Gupta new Delhi Police chief, Dadwal to move to SSB as D-G

NEW DELHI: Tihar Jail Director General B K Gupta will take over as the new Commissioner of Delhi Police tomorrow as incumbent Y S Dadwal is moving to Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) as its chief.

Dadwal, a 1974-batch officer, is taking charge as the Director General of SSB after a stint of over three years as the City Police Commissioner during which he was credited for the foolproof security arrangements during Commonwealth Games.

Both Dadwal and Gupta, 58, a 1975-batch officer, were given farewell by senior officials of Delhi Police and Tihar Jail, respectively.

Dadwal, 59, took over as Delhi Police chief pipping Kiran Bedi, the first woman IPS officer.

"Of course, the successful conduct of the Commonwealth Games on security perspective is the most memorable event during my tenure as Commissioner. It is not my achievement but that of the force," Dadwal told reporters.

Asked about his new responsibility, he said he has to "study first" and only then he could give comments on his assignment for the paramilitary force which is the guarding force and lead intelligence agency for Indo-Nepal border and assigned the task of guarding the 1,751 km long frontier.

One regret Dadwal carries along with him is that he could not ensure the solving of a number of cases, including that of the suspected terror attack at Jama Masjid ahead of the Games.

"A policeman will never be satisfied if one case remain unsolved. In that sense I can never be satisfied...I wish the Jama Masjid case would have been solved (during my tenure)," Dadwal said.

On how he managed not to get into controversies despite handling the sensitive post of capital's police chief, he said he tackled problems and issues "upfront, in a transparent way and that head on head approach helped".

Asked whether he faced political pressure while functioning as city police chief, Dadwal's answer was emphatic: "No, absolutely not all."

In a lighter vein later, he said he may write an autobiography after his retirement. To a journalist's query on what he plays as sport, his answer was golf.