TN cadre officer Sanjay Arora to be new Delhi police Commissioner

NEW DELHI: Sanjay Arora, a Tamil Nadu-cadre IPS officer who headed the paramilitary force ITBP, was appointed as the Delhi Police commissioner on Sunday.

Arora, who was once part of the Tamil Nadu Police’s special task force which later hunted down forest brigand Veerappan, will succeed Rakesh Asthana, a Gujarat-cadre IPS officer who retired on Sunday after nearly 38 years in service.

Arora, 57, is the second successive non-AGMUT cadre IPS officer to head the Delhi Police and the third since the Delhi Police Act was passed in 1978 and a commissionerate was established.

Before Arora and Asthana, Ajai Raj Sharma, a 1966-batch IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, was appointed as the Delhi Police chief in 1999 when L K Advani was the Union Home Minister.

The Delhi Police functions under the Union Home Ministry and its officers belong to the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre. According to an official order, the competent authority has approved the inter-cadre deputation of Arora.

Arora, a 1988-batch IPS officer, will take charge on Monday and will continue till further order. He is due for retirement in 2025.

Sanjay Arora served as the Superintendent of Police of the Tamil Nadu Police STF which was set up to hunt down forest brigand Veerappan and he was awarded the Chief Minister’s gallantry medal for bravery. He served as Coimbatore police commissioner between 2002 and 2004.

Arora was appointed the Director General of the paramilitary Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in August last year. He also had stints in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Border Security Force (BSF). He holds a B Tech degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering.

Officials said Arora had played an important role in forming the Special Security Group (SSG) to provide security to Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu during the heyday of the LTTE insurgency.

In a separate order, the Home Ministry said his tenure as DG-ITBP has been curtailed and his inter-cadre deputation from the Tamil Nadu cadre to the AGMUT cadre will begin from the date of joining the AGMUT cadre and up to his date of superannuation i.e. up to July 31, 2025, or until further orders, whichever is earlier, in relaxation of inter-cadre deputation guidelines.

The Home Ministry also said DG-SSB, SL Thaosen, a 1988-batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, will hold additional charge of DG-ITBP till further order.