SN Shrivastava Appointed As New Delhi Police Commissioner, Amulya Patnaik To Retire Tomorrow

SN Shrivastava, a 1985 batch AGMUT cadre officer, was appointed as the new Delhi Police Commissioner on Friday. Shrivastava takes over as the Delhi top cop a day before incumbent Amulya Patnaik's extended tenure is set to end on February 29. Earlier on February 26, Shrivastava was appointed as the new Delhi Police Special Commissioner (Law and Order). He was repatriated from the CRPF by the Union Home Ministry amid sharp criticism of the Delhi Police for its alleged apathy during the riots in North-East district. There was lots of buzz in power corridor that Shrivastava will be next Delhi Police Commissioner.

On Thursday, he had also visited the riot-hit areas of the North-East Delhi to restore people’s faith in ‘khaki’. The Delhi Police has faced lot of backlash for allegedly not working diligently to quell the riots and act on time. In the 38 casualties in Delhi riots, there is one police constable. A DCP rank officer suffered head injury and had to undergo a brain surgery at a hospital in east Delhi. Shrivastava will have a huge responsibility to uplift the morale of the force.

Many term Patnaik's quiet exit amid the outrage over the Delhi riots as ‘honourable’. From general public to political leaders, there was a widespread demand of Patnaik’s removal after the Maujpur mayhem. However, an IANS report said that Patnaik didn’t face a wrath as he was close to a senior bureaucrat in Prime Minister’s Office. In fact, the IANS report added that when rioters ran amok on the streets of Jaffrabad, Ghonda and Bhajanpura, Patnaik was lobbying for postings of his favourite officers. 

The Opposition had said the very fact that the Prime Minister had to send National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to the riot-hit areas was testimony of Patnaik’s abject failure. Back in November last year, the men and women of the Delhi Police staged protests against Patnaik after the showdown with the lawyers.

After the violence in the Capital triggered massive dissent and crictisism over incompetence on part of Delhi Police, an NDTV report said how Patnaik used back door at home ministry to avoid media glare. Patnaik was appointed the Delhi Police chief in January 2017. He got a one-month extension due to the Delhi Assembly Elections.  

(With agency inputs)