Bengal Cabinet clears proposal to appoint Rajeev Kumar as acting DGP

Kolkata: The West Bengal Cabinet on Wednesday cleared a proposal to appoint Rajeev Kumar as the acting Director General of Police (DGP).

Kumar, currently the Principal Secretary in the Information Technology Department, had earlier served as the Commissioner of Kolkata Police.

A 1989-batch IPS officer, Kumar will be replacing the current DGP, Manoj Malviya, who is scheduled to retire on Thursday.

“Kumar, like Malviya, has been initially appointed as the acting DGP. Later, like his predecessor, Kumar will also be absorbed as the permanent DGP subject to the final clearance from the Union government,” said a member of the state Cabinet.

Incidentally, Kumar's name had been dragged into controversy a number of times in the past.

He came under the scanner of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) over the central agency’s investigation into the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam.

He was replaced as the Commissioner twice by the Election Commission of India before the 2016 Assembly elections. However, after the elections, he was reinstated by the state government.

Meanwhile, the person quoted above said that the state Cabinet has principally agreed on appointing the current Additional Chief Secretary to the Home Department, B.P. Gopalika, as the next Chief Secretary.

Gopalika will replace the current Chief Secretary, H.K. Dwivedi, who is already under extension and is scheduled to retire on December 31.

Two names are currently under consideration for the post of Home Secretary -- Manoj Panth (currently the Finance Secretary) and Vivek Kumar (currently the Forest Secretary).

The current Land & Reforms Secretary, Smaraki Mahapatra, is the front-runner for the post of Finance Secretary.