NEW DELHI: Rakesh Asthana, a senior IPS officer of Gujarat cadre, has been appointed commissioner of Delhi Police. He has been relieved from the position of Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF), which he held for nearly a year.
In August 2019, he was given the additional charge of Director General of the Narcotics Control Bureau. He has previously also held the position of special director of the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The appointment of Asthana to the post came just days before he was to superannuate on July 31. Now, he will have a tenure of one year.
This is one of the very few instances when an IPS officer outside of the AGMUT cadre has been appointed as the Delhi Police chief. Usually, an officer belonging to the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre is appointed to the post.
Asthana came into the spotlight in 2018 with the CBI versus CBI case. He had a simmering feud with then CBI director Alok Verma. At the time, Asthana held the position of CBI special director, #2 in the central agency.
