Uttar Pradesh DGP Hitesh Chandra Awasthy retires; Mukul Goel likely to be new DGP

Pic: DGP UP HC Awasthy hands over charge to ADG L&O on his superannuation.

Uttar Pradesh DGP Hitesh Chandra Awasthi retired today. ADG Law and Order Prashant Kumar has been appointed the acting DGP until a replacement is named officially. Reacting to his retirement, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that he served the state as a sharp officer. “Director General of Police Shri HC Awasthy ji is retiring today after completing 36 years in office. During his long service as an IPS officer, he has served the country and the state as a good leader and sharp officer,” said the CM. Adityanath also said that he played an important role during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Awasthy, a 1985-batch IPS officer, was appointed as the UP DGP in March last year. Like his predecessors, Awasthy’s tenure was also full of controversies, especially the last leg. The last year’s Hathras gang rape case and its handling by the police where the police cremated the victim at about 2:30 am raised a question mark on the functioning of the police. Then there was the Vikas Dubey encounter case which appeared like a scene directly taken out from a Bollywood movie. The police claimed that the vehicle in which Dubey was being brought back overturned midway and the accused tried to flee away, snatching the gun of a policeman and opened fire. Following this, he was shot dead in the encounter. Another major controversy was related to Twitter where the UP police filed two FIRs against Twitter – one in the Loni assault case and another in the case where a distorted map of India was shown on Twitter’s website.

कोविड की विभीषिका के बीच श्री एचसी अवस्थी जी ने उत्तर प्रदेश पुलिस के मुखिया की महती जिम्मेदारी का निर्वहन किया है।

कोविड प्रबंधन के लिए गठित टीम-09 के महत्वपूर्ण सदस्य के रूप में भी उनकी भूमिका सराहनीय रही: #UPCM श्री @myogiadityanath जी

— CM Office, GoUP (@CMOfficeUP) June 30, 2021

On the other hand, 1987-batch IPS officer Mukul Goel’s name has emerged as the front runner for the post. Goel yesterday met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow which sent the rumour mills buzzing. Earlier yesterday, the Union Public Service Commission prepared a list of three officers for the DGP post and sent it to the government. It included Nasir Kamal, Mukul Goel and RP Singh.

Nasir Kamal: The senior-most official in the list, Nasir Kamal is a 1986-batch IPS officer of UP cadre. He is currently serving as the Director of the National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science. He had also served in the Bureau of Police Research and Development, National Crime Records Bureau and Border Security Force.

Mukul Goel: The 1987-batch IPS officer of the UP cadre, Goel is presently serving as ADG, Border Security Force. He had served in the UP Police in different capacities. Born in Muzaffarnagar, Goel has done B.Tech (Electrical Engineering) from IIT Delhi. He was awarded the Police Medal for Gallantry (2003), Police Medal for Meritorious Services (2003) and the President Police Medal for distinguished services (2012) for his exemplary service. Goel had served as ADG Law and Order during the Samajwadi Party’s regime.

Rajendra Pal Singh: He is also a 1987-batch IPS officer and is a batchmate of Goel. Singh is presently serving as DG, Economic Offence Wing (EOW) in Uttar Pradesh. Born in Shahjahanpur, Singh holds an MA degree in History besides a PhD.