BSF DG Rakesh Asthana appointed as Commissioner of Delhi Police

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 27

The government on Tuesday appointed 1984-batch IPS officer from Gujarat cadre and currently Director General of BSF Rakesh Asthana as the Commissioner of Delhi Police.

The order giving Asthana the new assignment has come just three days before his retirement.

In the order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) it said, “Consequent upon appointment of Rakesh Asthana as Commissioner of Police, Delhi, the competent authority has approved that SS Deswal, Director general of ITBP shall hold addition charge of the post of DG, BSF till the appointment and joining of the regular incumbent or until further orders, whichever is earlier.”

It further directed Deswal to immediately take charge of the BSF so that Asthana could join as Commissioner of Delhi Police.

Asthana has always been considered a competent officer with impeccable integrity, but later during his stint in the CBI he was drawn into an unsavoury controversy when he picked up a fight with then Director of the agency Alok Verma as a Special Director on conduct over high profile cases.

Following this, Asthana was shunted out along with Verma and moved to the post of Director General Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

Asthana will now take charge from senior IPS officer Balaji Srivastava, who had been given additional charge of Delhi Police after the retirement of SN Shrivastava on June 30.