Ashok Kumar was born and brought up in a small village, Kurana, of district Panipat in Haryana. He received his primary education from the village Government school and went on to do B. Tech (1986) and M.Tech (1988) from IIT Delhi.
He joined the Indian Police Service in 1989 and served in various challenging assignments in the state of UP and Uttarakhand in places like Allahabad, Aligarh, Chamoli, Mathura, Shahjahanpur, Mainpuri, Rampur, Nainital & Haridwar, etc... He was instrumental in eliminating Terrorism from the Tarai Region of Kumaun. Presently he is posted as Additional Director General of Police Crime, Law & Order. He held the portfolio of IG Garhwal and IG Kumaun. where he worked towards humane and victim-oriented policing. He also worked as chief of Intelligence and Security Uttarakhand and Director Vigilance Uttarakhand where he started a major drive against corruption. He has also served with CRPF and BSF as IG on a deputation basis where he faced a Naxal challenge and managed the Indo-Pakistan border on a crucial Punjab frontier.
He received the UN Medal for serving in strife-torn Kosovo in the year 2001. He was awarded the Indian Police Medal for Meritorious services in 2006. He was also awarded President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service on the occasion of Republic Day 2013. He has been awarded the prestigious "Outstanding Contribution to National Development" award by IIT Delhi Alumni. He has been a Senate member of IIT Delhi for 3 years.
He is the author of the famous book ‘Human in Khaki’ (खाकी में इंसान)– The Book has been translated into Bengali, Gujarati & Marathi also. The Book has been awarded ‘Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant Award by Bureau of Police Research and Development, MHA.
He has also authored three other books titled "Challenges to Internal Security of India", "Cracking Civil Services The open secret" and "Ethics for Civil Services".
His other interests include Badminton, Tennis, Riding, and organizing sports events. He is also the President of the Uttarakhand State Badminton Association.