States » EastPosted at: Sep 28 2026 11:20PM


Seven senior IPS officers in race for next West Bengal DGP

Kolkata, Sep 28 (UNI) The state government has short listed seven officers eligible to become DG and IGP of the West Bengal Police to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
Present DG Siddh Nath Gupta, whose tenure has been extended by six months, will vacate office on October 31 this year.
Sources indicate that the process of selecting a new police chief has already begun. The question now arises: who will be the next DGP of the state, and who is leading the race?
According to sources, the names of several senior IPS officers have been forwarded to the union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for consideration for the post of state police DGP.
Seven names are particularly significant, comprising officers from the 1991 to 1995 batches. The list includes Natarajan Ramesh Babu (DGP, CID) and Anuj Sharma (DGP, Fire Services) from the 1991 batch; Sanjay Singh (Cyber Cell) from the 1992 batch; Piyush Pandey (DGP, Security) and Praveen Kumar (DGP, BSF) from the 1993 batch; and Javed Shamim (DGP, STF) and Ajay Mukund Ranade (DGP, Law and Order) from the 1995 batch.
Sources at Nabanna suggest that BSF DGP Praveen Kumar may be the frontrunner in this race. Praveen Kumar, a 1993-batch IPS officer, previously served as the Superintendent of Police of the undivided Midnapore district. Currently, he reports directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and union Home Minister Amit Shah, having worked closely with the union Ministry of Home Affairs for nearly a decade and a half. He has remained free of any controversy throughout his career.
Reports indicate that he is also viewed favourably by the central government. However, the question remains whether he would be willing to leave the command of a force exceeding 300,000 personnel to assume the role of state police DGP.
Sources reveal that the central government has specifically recommended Praveen Kumar's name to the UPSC for this position, a move also supported by the state's Chief Minister, who values his past professional achievements.
However, in terms of seniority, 1991-batch IPS officers Natarajan Ramesh Babu and Anuj Sharma (DG, Fire Services) are ahead. According to special sources, the names of these two officers are also considered highly significant. UNI BGA NST CDS
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