Rajeev Kumar PPM IPS (born 30 July 1966) is an Indian police officer and bureaucrat, who is serving as the Director General of West Bengal Police, since July 2024.[1] Previously he served in the same post from December 2023 until was removed by Election Commission of India in March 2024. Prior to his office, he is also additional chief secretary of Information Technology of West Bengal Government since 2023.[2]
Rajeev Kumar | |
|---|---|
| Director General of West Bengal Police | |
| Assumed office 16 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Sanjoy Mukherjee |
| In office 31 December 2023 – 18 March 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Manoj Malaviya |
| Succeeded by | Vivek Sahay (acting) |
| Information Technology Secretary of West Bengal | |
| Assumed office 25 December 2019 | |
| Appointed by | Mamata Banerjee |
| Preceded by | Debasis Sen |
| 37th Police Commissioner of Kolkata | |
| In office 21 May 2016 – 19 February 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Soumen Mitra |
| Succeeded by | Anuj Sharma |
| In office 14 February 2016 – 12 April 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Surajit Kar Purkayastha |
| Succeeded by | Soumen Mitra |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 July 1966 |
| Education | B.E. |
| Alma mater | Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee |
| Police career | |
| Country |  India |
| Department | West Bengal Police Kolkata Police Force (2016–2019) |
| Service years | 1990 – present |
| Rank | Director General |
| Badge no. | 19891041 |
| Batch | 1989 |
| Cadre | Uttar Pradesh |
| Awards | |
Early life
editBirth and education
editKumar was born in 1966 in Uttar Pradesh. He earned a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science from the University of Roorkee (now IIT-Roorkee).[3]
Early police career
editKumar joined the Indian police service in 1989 from the Uttar Pradesh cadre. He also served as the Bidhannagar Police Commissioner and the Director of Special Task Force (STF), Kolkata Police.[4]
Kolkata Police (2016–2019)
editHe was briefly appointed as the Kolkata Police Commissioner from 14 February 2016 to 12 April 2016. In the 2016 elections in West Bengal, he was removed from the post by the Election Commission of India. He was later reinstated on 21 May 2016 and served until 19 February 2019.[5][6]
Later career
editHe was the Additional Director of Criminal Investigation Department, West Bengal from 20 February 2019 until December 2019. He was then promoted to Principal Secretary of the Department of Information Technology, West Bengal until 2023.[7]
He was promoted to Director General of Police, West Bengal on 27 December 2023 on the superannuation of Manoj Malaviya batch of 1988 IPS.
Controversies
editIn 2019, Kumar was accused by the CBI in the Supreme Court of tampering with electronic evidence related to the Saradha chit-fund case.[8] An estimated 1.8 million depositors from West Bengal, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha contributed an estimated Rs. 2,460 crore to the case.[9] It was discovered in 2012 when depositors began reporting suspicious activity to the police.[10][11]
References
edit- ^ PTI (2024-07-15). "Bengal govt reinstates Rajeev Kumar as DGP". ThePrint. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
- ^ "Rajeev Kumar principal secretary in IT". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
- ^ "The importance of being IPS officer Rajeev Kumar — for either side". The Indian Express. 2019-02-05. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
- ^ "Rajeev Kumar reinstated as the Kolkata Police Chief after Mamata's return". The Indian Express. 2016-05-22. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
- ^ "Rajeev Kumar Appointed As New Kolkata Police Commissioner". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
- ^ "CBI Interrogates Kolkata Police Chief Rajeev Kumar in Shillong". The Wire. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
- ^ "After Bengal CID, former Kolkata top cop Rajeev Kumar gets charge of STF". Hindustan Times. 2019-03-02. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
- ^ Correspondent, Legal (2021-02-23). "Saradha chit fund scam: CBI, West Bengal govt. spar over contempt case". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
{{cite news}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "Rajeev Kumar: Kolkata Police chief who was once close to being moved to insignificant post by Mamata Banerjee". WION. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
- ^ "Saradha probe: Very serious revelations in CBI report on former Kolkata police chief, says SC". India Today. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
- ^ PTI (2019-05-30). "Former Kolkata top cop Rajeev Kumar moves Calcutta High Court for quashing of CBI notice". ThePrint. Retrieved 2023-12-27.