Centre clears decks toappoint Rajeev KumarSharma as state DGP
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Though a formal Rajasthan govt order announcing his appointment was awaited at the time of going to the press, Sharma is expected to arrive in Jaipur on Thursday and assume charge once his appointment is notified. Sharma's repatriation from Delhi, where he served as director general, Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), is expected to put an end to a three-week wait for a new police chief after UR Sahoo demitted office on June 10.
While DG (ACB) Ravi Prakash Meharda was given additional charge as DGP, he also retired on June 30. A 1990-batch officer, Sharma, a native of Mathura, is among the state's most experienced officers.
He has been a recipient of the President's Police Medal and the Police Medal for Meritorious Service, and is known in policing circles for his clean image, legal acumen, and administrative foresight.
Beginning his police career as Jodhpur (Central) ASP in 1992, Sharma went on to serve as SP in Bharatpur, Jaipur (North), Jhalawar, Dausa, and Rajsamand.
He was also posted as IG in Bikaner and Bharatpur ranges. His diverse range of assignments include a posting in Bosnia, roles in CBI in Jaipur and Delhi, including in its special unit.
In Rajasthan, he served as director general of anti-corruption bureau (ACB), the Rajasthan Police Academy, apart from leading key branches such as administration, law & order, RAC, and personnel.
Once he joins office, Sharma's first task will likely be to restore order in the police force, grappling with top level vacancies and an overdue IPS reshuffle, stalled amid administrative indecision for over six months.
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For instance, the state has been without a permanent DG, cyber crime, since Hemant Priyadarshy retired on May 31. Similarly, the post of DG and commandant general, Home Guards, has remained vacant since Rajesh Nirwan's central deputation and appointment to the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) in Delhi on Feb 12. While the 1994-batch IPS officer Malini Agarwal was given additional charge of Home Guards on Feb 15, no full-time replacement has been named though Rajasthan has eight DG rank officers, two on central deputation, and the remaining — DGP designate Rajeev Kumar Sharma, Sanjay Agarwal, Govind Gupta, Anil Paliwal, Anand Srivastava, Ashok Rathore and Malini Agarwal — posted at the Police Headquarters.
The last major IPS reshuffle, meanwhile, was done on Sept 22, 2024, with only a handful of transfers or awaiting posting orders (APO) notifications issued since. As a result, dozens of IPS officers, including Anand Sharma (SP, Jaipur Rural), Bhuvan Bhushan Yadav (SP, Sikar), Gaurav Yadav (SP, Sriganganagar), and Rajan Dushyant (SP, Kotputli-Behror) — promoted to DIG rank on Dec 31, 2024 — still serving in their earlier SP roles.
A senior official told TOI, "Although transfers should ideally be timely, it has not affected ground-level policing due to the established hierarchy." However, prolonged vacancies at the top raise concerns about the force's ability to address emerging challenges effectively.
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