A 1984-cadre of the Indian Police Services, Javeed Ahmed, was appointed as the new Director General of Police in Uttar Pradesh on Friday.
Mr. Ahmed, 55, replaced Jagmohan Yadav, who retired on Thursday after 32 years of service. While Mr. Yadav, a 1983-batch officer retired after only six months as DGP, Mr. Ahmed has five more years till he retires.
Mr. Ahmed was serving as the DG Railways in Lucknow. The Patna-born officer enjoys a clean image and a good record in policing. He also served as a joint director in the Central Bureau of Investigation during his central deputation. Mr. Ahmed said his priorities would be to build the people’s trust in the UP police force and fill the vacuum.
“We will work to build the trustworthiness and sensitivity of the police force, and improve their professional capacity. Lead by example, those officers who don’t understand or are lax, would be picked out,” he said.
Mr. Ahmed is also the second Muslim DGP in the three-and-a-half year rule of the Samajwadi Party. Rizwan Ahmed served as the DGP from January 1, to February 28, 2014.
The BJP questioned Mr. Ahmed’s appointment and said he was chosen after “superseding 15 senior officers” and it reflected the “vote-bank” politics of the Samajwadi Party government. The SP relies heavily on Muslim votes, in addition to its core Yadav support.
In the race for the top post, Mr. Ahmed is said to have beaten many senior officers, including DG CB-CID Praveen Singh Verma and DGP Police Recruitment Board V.K Gupta.
“Ineffective at keeping the law and order situation in the State under check, an unsuccessful Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav made the new appointment keeping in mind the 2017 elections. The government must explain why it chose Javeed Ahmed over 15 other senior officers,” BJP spokesperson Chandramohan said.
An M.A in history, Mr. Ahmed has received the President’s police medal for his services. In 2000, he was promoted to the rank of a DIG, while in 2005 he was appointed an IG.
