Rohtak dist gets new DC, 10th in nine yrs

Rohtak, April 12

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Ajay Kumar, an IAS officer of 2013 batch, took over the charge of the Rohtak Deputy Commissioner today. Prior to this, he was posted as the Deputy Commissioner at Nuh (Mewat). He earlier served as the Additional Deputy Commissioner in Rohtak.

Interestingly, Rohtak, which is known as the political capital of Haryana, has got 10 deputy commissioners in the past nine years.

When the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP regime took over the reins of the state in October 2014, Dr Amit Kumar Agrawal, who is presently serving as the Additional Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, was the Deputy Commissioner of Rohtak.

After Agrawal, Shekhar Vidyarthi took over, whose tenure lasted just about six months. Then, Dusmanta K Behera took over the reins of Rohtak in June 2015, but he also served for less than a year. Jat agitation for grant of reservation took place during his tenure. After Behera came Atul Kumar, who was succeeded by Dr Yash Garg, followed by RS Verma. Then arrived Capt Manoj Kumar, who remained in office for nearly two years. After his tenure, Capt Shakti Singh was given the additional charge for a week. Dr Yash Pal took over in August 2022 and was shifted this week.

Political observers maintain that the senior administrative and police officers posted at Rohtak have to strike a balance between opposing political forces as there is BJP-JJP government in Haryana, while Rohtak is the hometown of two-time CM and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

“The government should appoint Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police carefully as the district is not only politically sensitive, but has also been the epicentre of Jat agitation and witnessed the worst-ever riots in 2016,” said author-journalist Pawan Kumar Bansal.