Keeping Punjab safe & secure top priority, says Dinkar Gupta after taking over as state DGP

Senior IPS officer Dinkar Gupta Thursday took over as new director general of Punjab police, succeeding Suresh Arora, who was on an extension after his retirement on September 30 last year.

Gupta's appointment was cleared by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Thursday morning, an official spokesman said here.

Soon after taking over as the state's new police chief, Gupta said keeping the border state, facing multiple challenges, safe and secure would continue to be the priority of Punjab police under him.

Pointing out that Punjab shares over 550 km of international border with Pakistan, he said the state police has to counter terrorism, tackle gangsters and drug menace, besides curtailing other crimes.

"A safe and secure Punjab has always been the priority of the force and this will continue to be our priority," he said.

A 1987-batch IPS officer, Gupta is the senior-most of three officers, all of the same batch, empanelled for appointment to the top post by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) earlier this week.

Prior to taking over as state police chief, Gupta worked as the chief of the intelligence wing of the Punjab police. His responsibilities included direct supervision of the Punjab police Intelligence Wing, state's Anti-Terrorist Squad and Organized Crime Control Unit.

Gupta was empanelled on April 26 last year for appointment to the post of additional director general at the Centre.

He did an eight-year stint on central deputation with the Home Ministry, from June 2004 to July 2012, where he held many sensitive assignments.

During his younger days, Gupta served as senior superintendent of police of Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur districts for over seven years, when Punjab was bearing the brunt of pro-Khalistani terrorism.

Gupta was also decorated with the Police Medal for Meritorious Services and the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 2010.

Interacting with reporters here at the Punjab police headquarters, Gupta lauded the work being done by the Special Task Force of the state police in tackling the drug menace.

Be it the reduction of drug supply, enforcement of anti-drug laws or working for the de-addiction of drug addicts, both the STF and district police have done good work in the past two years, he said.

On the Punjab police busting some terror modules in the past including the Pakistan's ISI-backed one with the arrest of a Patiala resident last November, Gupta said, "The Punjab police has always lived up to the challenge to defeat the nefarious designs of enemies.