By appointing Sanjay Arora as the Commissioner of Delhi police, the Centre has once again overlooked the claims of IPS officers of the AGMUT cadre for the coveted position. Arora no doubt has had a very successful career as a police officer and though he belongs to the Tamil Nadu cadre, he has held important ranks in multiple central police organisations; he was DGP of the ITBP before being drafted the lead the Delhi police. Arora is also considered to be a man of unimpeachable integrity and a thorough professional. Leading the Delhi police would be a fresh challenge for him since both urban policing in a metropolitan city as well as handling the complex policing of the national capital is something which has never been easy. He is the third IPS officer from outside who has been chosen to head the Delhi police since 1985; both Ajai Raj Sharma from UP and Rakesh Asthana from Gujarat served as Commissioners prior to him. Ajai Raj Sharma left his mark on the Delhi Police force while Rakesh Asthana took some controversial decisions in his one year in office and only time shall tell whether they were in the correct direction. The first AGMUT cadre officer to head the Delhi police was Ved Marwah, a legendary cop who took over the assignment in May, 1985 soon after the successful working out of the Transistor bomb cases. Marwah was originally allotted the West Bengal cadre but being from the Capital, he served the Delhi police in various capacities and was awarded the President’s police medal for gallantry for his role in the Sadar Bazar riots in the 1970s.
There has always been a debate in police circles on whether it was justified to bring in people from other cadres when officers from that particular cadre were available for the position. Technically speaking an IPS officer is expected to serve in any post he is assigned by his cadre controlling authority and in that sense there is nothing that can be found wrong in the appointment of Sanjay Arora. There have been several officers who have been extremely successful otherwise but their tenure as Commissioners of Delhi was a forgettable experience. Arun Bhagat, has had perhaps the most envious bio data, any IPS officer could have had; he worked for the R&AW, BSF, CBI and IB as its director, but his one-year tenure in Delhi police was something he himself may not be very proud of. To be a successful Commissioner, one has to have both luck and team work on one’s side besides professional capability and deep understanding of the city’s problems.
Arora has all the requisite qualities and if the officers and the ranks of Delhi police live up to his exacting standards, he may leave his mark on the force. He has nearly three years of service left and unless the Centre chooses him for some other assignment subsequently, he shall retire from the Delhi police. The Delhi police is perhaps the most outstanding police organisations in the country and barring what happened in 1984 when its own personnel shot the Prime Minister and were later not able to control the anti-Sikh riots, the force has had an outstanding record. Sanjay Arora has a huge task on hand and everyone should wish him all the success.