Apart from Delhi Police which got its new Commissioner, Mr Alok Verma, after the retirement of BS Bassi, the country’s two largest paramilitary forces, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Border Security Force (BSF), recently also got new chiefs.
Former Special Protection Group (SPG) chief K Durga Prasad took over as the Director General of CRPF, while senior police officer KK Sharma took charge as BSF chief at their respective headquarters in Delhi.
Mr Prasad, a 1981-batch Telangana cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, took charge from his predecessor, Prakash Mishra, who superannuated as the chief of the around 3-lakh personnel strong force.
He said his priorities will be to further sharpen and enhance the operational capabilities and better training of the men and women of CRPF. “In the last one year, things have gone in the right direction and I will like to maintain the tempo and speed up the technical upgradation of the force. I have told my troops that we need to work with all the zeal and enthusiasm in a professional manner to deliver the results expected from us,” Mr Prasad said.
The officer is best remembered for raising CRPF’s elite jungle warfare unit COBRA taking on Maoists during his stint as an Inspector General in 2008. The task was especially given to him considering his experience with a similar and highly successful commando unit of Andhra Pradesh police called the ‘Greyhounds’.
Mr Prasad’s tenure as the Director of the Special Protection Group, entrusted to secure serving and former Prime Ministers, ended abruptly in 2014.
The second largest paramilitary force BSF also got its new chief in Mr Sharma who took over from outgoing Director General DK Pathak. Mr Sharma, a 1982-batch Rajasthan cadre police officer, will head the estimated 2.5 lakh troops of BSF. While Mr Prasad’s tenure will last till February next year, Mr Sharma will be in office till September 2018.
