Chandigarh, February 7: Senior IPS officer Dinkar Gupta is Punjab’s new Director General of Police (DGP). He replaces Suresh Arora, who had been on an extension since his retirement on September 30 last year.

Gupta’s appointment to the top post was cleared by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday, said an official statement. Gupta was of the senior most of all three officers, who had been empanelled for the appointment to the top post by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) earlier this week. Goa DGP Muktesh Chander Compares Himself to Italian Astronomer Galileo Galilei.

In his previous stint, Gupta was posted as Director General of Police, Intelligence, Punjab, which involved the direct supervision of Punjab State Intelligence Wing, state’s Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and Organised Crime Control Unit (OCCU).

An experienced and distinguished officer, Gupta was empanelled on April 26, 2018 for appointment to Additional Director General level post at the Centre, one out of the twenty 1987 batch IPS officers to be so empanelled, and the only one from Punjab.

He has served as Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur districts for more than seven years. He has been decorated with the Police Medal for Gallantry (1992) and Bar to Police Medal for Gallantry (1994) for displaying exceptional courage, conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty of a high order.