Hunt for Delhi’s top cop hots up

: With the government clearing the name of Alok Kumar Verma for the next CBI director’s post, the hunt to find his successor has begun.

The Centre is known to throw surprises when it comes to major appointments, but the frontrunners are expected to be Deepak Mishra and Dharmendra Kumar, both 1984-batch IPS officers who were in the race for the post the last time and are currently on Central deputation.

They will once again find themselves in contention and Amulya Patnaik, another AGMUT cadre officer and one batch their junior, who is likely to be the third name in the panel from which the final selection is to be made by the Union Home Ministry.

Mr. Patnaik is currently the senior-most officer in the Delhi Police after Mr. Verma, and will look after the CP’s work till the successor is announced.

In the event of either Mr. Mishra or Mr. Kumar making the cut, the other one who misses out may opt to continue with their current Central posting.

Tough test

The post of the Delhi Police Commissioner is a politically sensitive one and given the perennially strained relations of the AAP led-State government with the Centre, the officer at the top needs to be someone who can take everyone along but can be “tough”.

The Centre would also like someone who is relatively younger and is around at the time of the next general elections.

It is here that Rakesh Asthana, an officer of the Gujarat cadre who is younger than both Mr. Kumar and Mr. Mishra, may have the advantage and could be made the Delhi Police chief despite not being from the cadre, the first such officer since Ajay Raj Sharma.

Sources also hinted that it is not just seniority but also a long tenure that could be a deciding factor.

Mr. Asthana, who has a long experience working with the Mr. Modi during his tenure as the Gujarat Chief Minister, also enjoys the Centre’s confidence.

Sources said some politicians were believed to have lobbied for at least two officers on a list of five potential candidates.