Three months ahead of his retirement, Bihar Director General of police (DGP) Vinay Kumar has proceeded on a 21-day leave.
Preeta Verma, a 1991 batch IPS officer will take the additional charge of acting DGP along with his existing assignment Director General of home guards and fire services.
According to the department, Kumar's leave was sanctioned from Sept 15 to Oct 5 due to unavoidable personal and health reasons. Verma will oversee the functioning of police headquarters and discharge the key responsibilities attached to the DGP's post during this period.
Kumar will resume charge after his leave ends, while Verma's additional responsibility will cease upon his return.
Kumar, a 1990-batch IPS officer, is currently on a two-year extension of service, which will end on December 12, 2026.
Bihar government looks for a permanent DGP
Preeta Verma, a native of Rajasthan, is the senior-most among other contenders for the top post.
If she is selected, she will be the first woman DGP of Bihar.
Bihar government is shortlisting a panel of 20 senior IPS officers to be sent to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), which will pick three names and forward them to the state government.
From the three shortlisted names, Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary will pick the name of the new DGP.
As per the rule, at least 30 years of service is required to be the DGP. Apart from Preeta Verma, the race is between Kundan Krishnan (1994-batch), Jitendra Kumar (1993-batch), Jitendra Singh Gangwar (1993-batch), Amit Kumar (1994-batch) and Bhrigu Srinivasan (1992-batch).
Srinivasan is currently on central deputation and looking after National Security Guard (NSG) affairs while another strong contender Amit Kumar is also on central deputation.
Vivek Shukla is a management graduate who has worked in corporate worked for 20 years and is now pursuing his passion — news.
