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Ranchi, Nov 5 (IANS) Jharkhand Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag Gupta, whose appointment had led to a controversy between the Center and the state government, has tendered his resignation. Highly placed government sources gave this information on Wednesday.
According to sources, Gupta submitted his resignation at the residence of Chief Minister Hemant Soren late on Tuesday evening.
Though the state government is yet to issue any official announcement, sources confirmed that his resignation was accepted on Wednesday, with instructions to continue in the post till a successor is appointed.
The sudden development has intensified high-level discussions in the state government regarding Gupta’s replacement. Official sources said senior IPS officers Prashant Singh and MS Bhatia are the frontrunners for the top post.
A 1990-batch IPS officer, Gupta was promoted to the rank of director general in 2022 and later served as director general, training. On 26 July 2024, the Jharkhand government appointed him as acting DGP.
However, just before the assembly elections, the Election Commission of India removed him from the post. The Hemant Soren government reinstated him as the acting DGP on November 28, 2024, soon after the election process ended.
Gupta’s appointment became the center of a prolonged standoff between the state government, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and the Union Home Ministry.
Under Jharkhand state’s new rules for appointment of DGPs, the government on February 2 this year appointed Gupta as regular DGP for a fixed two-year tenure, and extended it till February 2027 – well ahead of his scheduled retirement on April 30, 2025, when he will turn 60.
The Union Home Ministry objected to the extension and insisted that the state should follow the process directed by the Supreme Court through UPSC.
The Center wrote to the state government twice, urging it to remove Gupta, but the state cited its newly framed rules to retain him.
UPSC also refused to endorse his appointment as regular DGP, further escalating the matter.
Gupta had earlier held key responsibilities including DGP, Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and CID chief.
In September, the state government took back the ACB portfolio from him, leading to speculation that his exit was imminent.
–IANS
SNC/SKP/VD