Is Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi setting the stage for his departure?

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police commissioner BS Bassi still has good seven months left for his retirement. However, by sharing almost all major responsibilities with his deputies, it seems he is setting the stage for his departure.

On Wednesday, the police chief got approvals from lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung and the home ministry for creation of a "special unit" and three positions of "senior special commissioners"—the first ever in the history of Delhi Police. 1978-batch IPS officer Vimla Mehra and 1984 batch officers Dharmendra Kumar and Deepak Mishra have been given the rank of senior special commissioners.

Mehra will be looking after general administration, headquarters, provision and logistics, estate welfare, training and recruitments.

The special unit, headed by Kumar, will virtually control all major departments of Delhi Police, including special cell, crime branch, economic offences wing, intelligence branch, security wing and traffic police. Kumar has just returned from Mizoram and was being speculated to either take up EOW, crime or special cell's charge. However, he has shocked many with most units landing in his kitty.

Deepak Mishra has been given the position of "law and order coordinator" in the new setup and he will be looking after the ranges, operations, Delhi Armed Police, vigilance, legal cell and research. With this, the post of special commissioner (law and order) has become vacant. Sources said Mishra may continue to hold charge of the post till the police chief appoints others under him.

Currently, Delhi has around 17 special commissioners and the top brass is struggling to fit all of them in. By creating additional posts, Bassi has ended up elongating the reporting chain which may affect the decision making process, top officers pointed out.

The arrangement is also being seen as the beginning of the race for the new police chief's appointment scheduled in February, 2016. Seniority-wise, 1979-batch officer Alok Verma is the frontrunner for the post. After Verma, Kumar and Mishra stand a chance. However, the race will be tough as both belong to the same batch. Among other contenders for the post are Karnal Singh, currently with enforcement directorate, and special commissioner JK Sharma.