Ranchi, Feb 3 (PTI) – Senior IPS officer Anurag Gupta has been appointed as the Director General of Police (DGP) of Jharkhand, as per a government notification issued on Monday.
Gupta, who was previously holding the additional charge of the DGP, has now been officially assigned the role. The notification, issued by the Department of Home, Prisons, and Disaster Management, also stated that the outgoing DGP, Ajay Kumar Singh, has been appointed as the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Jharkhand Police Housing Corporation Ltd.
Gupta, a 1990-batch IPS officer, had earlier been removed from the DGP post by the Election Commission ahead of the Jharkhand Assembly elections due to concerns over his alleged "election-related misconduct" in previous polls. Following his removal, the commission appointed Ajay Kumar Singh, a 1989-batch IPS officer, as the state's DGP on October 21, 2024.
Despite his removal, Gupta was brought back into a senior policing role when the Hemant Soren-led government appointed him as Additional DGP in November 2024. He was later given the additional charge of the DGP position shortly after Soren was sworn in as the 14th Chief Minister of Jharkhand.
The Jharkhand Assembly elections were held in two phases on November 13 and 20, with the JMM-led alliance securing a decisive victory, winning 56 out of the 81 assembly seats, while the BJP-led NDA managed to secure 24 seats.
Gupta had previously served as the acting DGP in July 2024, replacing AK Singh, another 1989-batch officer. Singh had originally been appointed as the DGP in February 2023 following the retirement of his predecessor, Neeraj Sinha. His appointment had resolved a controversy over the selection of the state's police chief.
In January 2023, the Supreme Court had dismissed a contempt petition against the Jharkhand government and former DGP Neeraj Sinha, which alleged that Sinha had continued to occupy the post even after his retirement on January 31, 2022.
