UPSC Shortlists Three IPS Officers for Punjab DGP Post; Gaurav Yadav Likely to Continue
Incumbent Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav is likely to continue as the state’s police chief after the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Tuesday shortlisted him among three senior IPS officers for appointment as the regular DGP.
According to official sources, the UPSC has prepared a panel of three eligible 1992-batch IPS officers from which the Punjab government will appoint the next regular DGP. The shortlisted officers, in order of seniority, are Dr. Sharad Satya Chauhan, Harpreet Singh Sidhu, and Gaurav Yadav.
Government sources indicated there is little likelihood of replacing Gaurav Yadav, particularly with the Punjab Assembly elections approaching.
“Unless there is an unexpected change in the government’s thinking, Gaurav Yadav is expected to continue as DGP,” a senior official said.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had earlier delayed forwarding the panel of eligible officers to the UPSC. The last Punjab DGP appointed through the UPSC process was V.K. Bhawra, who was sent on leave by the state government in June 2022 following the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala. Gaurav Yadav was subsequently appointed officiating DGP and has continued to head the Punjab Police ever since.
The appointment process follows the Supreme Court’s directions in the Prakash Singh case, under which state governments submit a panel of eligible senior IPS officers to the UPSC before a vacancy arises. The UPSC then recommends a panel of three officers, from which the state government makes the final appointment.
Although Parag Jain, a 1989-batch IPS officer, is the senior-most officer from the Punjab cadre, he is currently serving as the head of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and is therefore not under consideration for the state’s top police post.
Among the shortlisted officers, Dr. Sharad Satya Chauhan is currently serving as Special DGP-cum-Chief Director of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau, while Harpreet Singh Sidhu, who returned to Punjab last year after deputation with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), is awaiting a fresh posting.
Meanwhile, Kuldeep Singh, Chief of the Punjab Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) and also a 1992-batch IPS officer, did not find a place in the UPSC’s final panel.
The Punjab government is now expected to announce its final choice from the UPSC-recommended panel in the coming days, with Gaurav Yadav widely seen as the frontrunner to continue as the state’s regular DGP.