Neeraj Rohmetra
JAMMU, Sept 7:Director General of Police K Rajendra Kumar, who has been holding the top post of police in militancy-infested Jammu and Kashmir, presently hit by violent unrest for two months, is likely to get three-month extension in his services, which were, otherwise, scheduled to end on September 30 with his retirement.
Highly placed sources told the Excelsior that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and Jammu and Kashmir Government were in constant touch with each other as Rajendra is due to superannuate on September 30.
“After exploring various options, both the Home Ministry and the State Government have veered around the idea of giving extension to Rajendra for three months in view of his experience in tackling the adverse situations. Both were of the view that his services could prove useful in ending the current unrest, which has already entered into the third month,” sources said.
Though, they added, the Union Home Ministry has banned extension in the services, Rajendra could be given three-month extension as an exception in view of the Kashmir unrest as he was well-versed with the situation having experience of heading the police force for past two years and four months and prior to that working as IGP of both provinces-Jammu and Kashmir.
Rajendra is 1984 batch IPS officer of Jammu and Kashmir cadre and has headed various districts and zones in Jammu and Kashmir as SSP and DIG. He had also served as DGP for two months after the retirement of Kuldeep Khoda till Ashok Prasad took over the charge of the post.
He has held various other important assignments including posts of DG Law and Order, CID, IGP Jammu and Srinagar etc. He had very narrow escape in fighting terror attack on then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s rally at Srinagar in 2006.
According to sources, the Home Ministry had shared some names of outsider IPS officers for posting as the DGP in Jammu and Kashmir with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti but she wasn’t comfortable with all those names.
Sources said the State Cabinet, which is meeting in Srinagar tomorrow under the chairpersonship of Mehbooba Mufti, would discuss the extension of Rajendra.
According to sources, both Centre and State Governments didn’t want to take any chances of replacing the top cop in Jammu and Kashmir at the stage when the State was facing worst ever unrest with 75 lives lost in two months and nearly 10,000 others left injured, nearly half of them para-military and police personnel.
Moreover, with the Centre deciding to take some harsh steps to control the situation, it favour present set up of top police brass to continue, they said.
There are four posts of DGs in J&K, which are presently held by DGP K Rajendra, Gopal Reddy, Commandant General, Home Guards, Civil Defence and State Disaster Responder Force (SDRF), SK Mishra, Special DG (Coordination), Police Headquarters and Dr Shesh Pal Vaid, DG Prisons.
Gopal Reddy will retire on October 30, leaving one post of the DGP vacant.
Dr Vaid has services till October 2019 while Mishra has services till February 2019.
A couple of days back, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had called Dr Vaid in her office and discussed the situation with him.
The post of Vigilance Commissioner is also vacant for more than one year after the retirement of Sheikh Owais. IGP Vigilance Alok Puri is holding charge of the Vigilance Commission.
There are four Additional DGs in Jammu and Kashmir at present including VK Singh, Additional DG, Police Headquarters, SM Sahai, Additional DG CID, Dilbagh Singh, Additional DG Security and Lalat Indu Mohanty, Additional DG Armed.
Two Additional DGs-Duty Rani Dolley and Naveen Aggarwal are on Central deputation since 2014 and June 2016 respectively.
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