Gupta new Delhi Police chief,Dadwal to move to SSB as DG

Both Dadwal and Gupta,58,a 1975-batch officer,were given farewell by senior officials of Delhi Police and Tihar Jail,respectively.

Dadwal,59,took over as Delhi Police chief pipping Kiran Bedi,the first woman IPS officer.

“Of course,the successful conduct of the Commonwealth Games on security perspective is the most memorable event during my tenure as Commissioner. It is not my achievement but that of the force,” Dadwal told reporters.

Asked about his new responsibility,he said he has to “study first” and only then he could give comments on his assignment for the paramilitary force which is the guarding force and lead intelligence agency for Indo-Nepal border and assigned the task of guarding the 1,751 km long frontier.

One regret Dadwal carries along with him is that he could not ensure the solving of a number of cases,including that of the suspected terror attack at Jama Masjid ahead of the Games.

“A policeman will never be satisfied if one case remain unsolved. In that sense I can never be satisfied…I wish the Jama Masjid case would have been solved (during my tenure),” Dadwal said.

On how he managed not to get into controversies despite handling the sensitive post of capital’s police chief,he said he tackled problems and issues “upfront,in a transparent way and that head on head approach helped”.

Asked whether he faced political pressure while functioning his duty,Dadwal his answer was emphatic: “No,absolutely not all.”

In a lighter vein later,he said he may write an autobiography after his retirement. To a journalist’s query what he plays as sport,his answer was golf.

Gupta,as Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police (Crime Branch) during 2003-04,has to his credit a record seizure of contraband drugs,and exposure of several white collar crimes,including unearthing of the Telgi counterfeit stamp scandal.

He was transferred to Tihar Jails in 2006.

It was under Gupta’s leadership that Asia’s largest prison achieved ISO 9001: 2000 certification for several initiatives there.

The initiatives included visitor management system,reformative and rehabilitative activities including the first time offender ward,management of drug de-addiction centre and an effective HIV prevention programme with special focus on drug addicts.

He also launched the opium substitution treatment programme for drug users in collaboration with United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and AIIMS.