Bhim Sain Bassi is new Delhi Police chief

[1]

Senior IPS officer Bhim Sain Bassi was on Tuesday appointed as the next Delhi police commissioner and will take charge of the over 80,000 strong force on August 1.

Fifty-seven-year-old Bassi, a 1977 batch IPS officer and currently serving as special commissioner (administration), will succeed incumbent Neeraj Kumar who will retire on July 31 after a tumultuous year-long tenure.

Bassi will be the 20th commissioner of Delhi police.

Bassi served Delhi police in various capacities including as special commissioner (traffic), special commissioner (vigilance), joint commissioner (Southern Range) and additional commissioner (Northern Range). Bassi was also director general of Goa police.

The senior IPS officer of AGMU (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories) cadre, is due to retire from service in February 2016.

Bassi is taking over the reins of the force at a time when it has faced criticism on the issue of providing security to Delhi residents, especially women, and his major challenges include checking crimes related sexual violence against women and children.

Kumar had come under severe criticism after the December 16 gangrape of a 23-year-old that triggered widespread anger across the country.

Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit had slammed Kumar for the way Delhi police handled the protests in the city in the wake of the brutal gangrape and even demanded his resignation.

Kumar had also come under severe criticism following rape of a five-year-old girl in Gandhi Nagar area of North East Delhi in April.

Hundreds of people had staged demonstration outside Delhi police headquarters here after it was alleged that two police personnel had offered Rs 2,000 bribe to the victim’s poor parents to hush up the case.

Director general (investigation) at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Kanwaljit Deol and Tihar director general Vimla Mehra were in contention for the top Delhi police post.