Rajeev Kumar (police officer, born 1966) explained

Office:Director General of West Bengal Police
Term Start:16 July 2024
Predecessor:Sanjoy Mukherjee
Education:B.E.
Alma Mater:Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
Birth Date:1966 7, df=yes
Module:
Embed:yes
Badgenumber:19891041
Service: India
Serviceyears:1990 – present
Rank:Director General
Batch:1989
Cadre:Uttar Pradesh
Awards:
Department:West Bengal Police
Kolkata Police Force (2016–2019)
Honorific Suffix:PPM IPS
Predecessor1:Manoj Malaviya
Successor1:Vivek Sahay (acting)
Termstart1:31 December 2023
Termend1:18 March 2024
Office2:Police Commissioner of Kolkata
Termstart2:21 May 2016
Termend2:19 February 2019
Predecessor2:Soumen Mitra
Successor2:Anuj Sharma
Termstart3:14 February 2016
Termend3:12 April 2016
Predecessor3:Surajit Kar Purkayastha
Successor3:Soumen Mitra
Order2:37th

Rajeev Kumar PPM IPS (born 30 July 1966) is an Indian police officer and bureaucrat, who is serving as the Director General of West Bengal Police, since July 2024.[1] Previously he served in the same post from December 2023 until was removed by Election Commission of India on March 2024. Prior to his office, he is also additional chief secretary of Information Technology of West Bengal Government since 2023.[2]

Early life

Birth and education

Kumar was born in 1966 in Uttar Pradesh. He earned a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science from the University of Roorkee (now IIT-Roorkee).[3]

Early police career

Kumar joined the Indian police service in 1989 from the Uttar Pradesh cadre. He also served as the Bidhannagar Police Commissioner and the Director of Special Task Force (STF), Kolkata Police.[4]

Kolkata Police (2016–2019)

He was briefly appointed as the Kolkata Police Commissioner from 14 Feb 2016 to 12 April 2016. In the 2016 elections in West Bengal, he was removed from the post by the Election Commission of India. He was later reinstated on 21 May 2016 and served until 19 February 2019.[5] [6]

Later career

He was the Additional Director of Criminal Investigation Department, West Bengal from 20 February 2019 until December 2019. He was then promoted to Principal Secretary of the Department of Information Technology, West Bengal until 2023.[7]

He was promoted to Director General of Police, West Bengal on 27 December 2023 on the superannuation of Manoj Malaviya batch of 1988 IPS.

Controversies

In 2019, Kumar was accused by the CBI in the Supreme Court of tampering with electronic evidence related to the Saradha chit-fund case.[8] An estimated 1.8 million depositors from West Bengal, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha contributed an estimated Rs. 2,460 crore to the case.[9] It was discovered in 2012 when depositors began reporting suspicious activity to the police.[10] [11]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: PTI . 2024-07-15 . Bengal govt reinstates Rajeev Kumar as DGP . 2024-07-15 . ThePrint . en-US.
  2. Web site: Rajeev Kumar principal secretary in IT . 2023-12-27 . www.telegraphindia.com . en.
  3. Web site: 2019-02-05 . The importance of being IPS officer Rajeev Kumar — for either side . 2023-12-27 . The Indian Express . en.
  4. Web site: 2016-05-22 . Rajeev Kumar reinstated as the Kolkata Police Chief after Mamata's return . 2023-12-27 . The Indian Express . en.
  5. Web site: Rajeev Kumar Appointed As New Kolkata Police Commissioner . 2023-12-27 . NDTV.com.
  6. Web site: CBI Interrogates Kolkata Police Chief Rajeev Kumar in Shillong . 2023-12-27 . The Wire.
  7. Web site: 2019-03-02 . After Bengal CID, former Kolkata top cop Rajeev Kumar gets charge of STF . 2023-12-27 . Hindustan Times . en.
  8. News: Correspondent . Legal . 2021-02-23 . Saradha chit fund scam: CBI, West Bengal govt. spar over contempt case . en-IN . The Hindu . 2023-12-27 . 0971-751X.
  9. Web site: Rajeev Kumar: Kolkata Police chief who was once close to being moved to insignificant post by Mamata Banerjee . 2023-12-27 . WION . en-us.
  10. Web site: Saradha probe: Very serious revelations in CBI report on former Kolkata police chief, says SC . 2023-12-27 . India Today . en.
  11. Web site: PTI . 2019-05-30 . Former Kolkata top cop Rajeev Kumar moves Calcutta High Court for quashing of CBI notice . 2023-12-27 . ThePrint . en-US.