Hyderabad, April 18: Director General of Police (DGP) RR Girish Kumar still has four months to go before retiring from the post, but there is already a buzz about his successor.
Heading the list is Balwinder Singh, currently Additional Director, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), New Delhi. Clued-in sources told Express that some top government officials and a political party who were earlier instrumental in getting Singh appointed as the Hyderabad Police Commissioner, were now backing him for the DGP post.
As `kotwal’ of Hyderabad, Singh, a 1976 batch officer, had come under fire following three deadly bomb blasts in 2007 and the attack on Bangladeshi writer Tasleema Nasreen.
An equally strong contender is K Aravinda Rao, who had a long stint as state Intelligence chief till YSR’s death. Currently Director General of the Anti- Corruption Bureau (ACB), many in Government believe that Rao, a 1977 batch IPS officer, could well be the “natural choice.’’ Also in the race is Rao’s batchmate Umesh Kumar, working as Additional DGP (Provisions and Logistics).
There are a couple of others in the reckoning, including Principal Secretary (Home) P Gautam Kumar (1975 batch) but whether they would find favour remains to be seen. In fact, Gautam Kumar had already been bypassed when Girish Kumar was made the DGP.
–Agencies