The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved Gupta's appointment as the Director General, NIA till March 31, 2024, that is the date of his retirement, it said.(File)Dinkar Gupta, a 1987-batch IPS officer and former chief of Punjab Police, has been appointed Director General of National Investigation Agency (NIA). The Appointments Committee has approved the appointment of Gupta as the NIA chief till March 31, 2024, the date of his retirement.
A distinguished cop who served Punjab during the peak of militancy, Gupta successfully mapped and busted the narco-terrorism network in Punjab besides wiping off gangsters. It was under his watch that Punjab Police extradited two of them. He was also the first to highlight the threat posed by drones from across the border.
Gupta took over as the state police chief in February 2019, superseding five officers, two of whom fought a long and unsuccessful legal battle against him. During his stint as the police chief, he sought to overhaul training in a bid to make Punjab Police a tech-savvy force.
His wife Vini Mahajan, a 1987-batch IAS officer was the chief secretary of Punjab from June 2020 to September 2021, making the two power couple of the state.
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Prior to his elevation as the state police chief, Gupta was posted as DGP (Intelligence), a role in which he handled Punjab State Intelligence Wing, State Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and Organised Crime Control Unit (OCCU). It was during his tenure that the Punjab police busted a number of terror modules and solved the cases of targeted killings Many notorious gangsters were also eliminated.
Gupta was replaced as the police chief soon after Capt Amarinder Singh was unseated in a coup in September last year. At present, he was posted as the chief of the Punjab Police Housing Corporation.
Known as a thinking man’s cop with a keen insight into terror operations from across the border, Gupta was a Visiting Professor (2000-01) at the George Washington University, Washington DC and American University, where he designed a course titled ‘Governments under Siege: Understanding Terrorism and Terrorists’ in January-May 2001.
In 1999, Gupta was awarded the British Chevening Gurukul Scholarship by the British Council at London School of Economics, London.
Gupta was the only officer from Punjab to be empanelled for appointment to Additional Director General level post at the Centre in 2018. He was on central deputation with the MHA for eight years, from June 2004 to July 2012. During this period, he was also assigned as head of the Dignitary Protection Division of the MHA.
In Punjab, he served as district police chief of Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur for more than seven years during the peak of terrorism in Punjab. He has also served as DIG (Jalandhar Range), DIG (Ludhiana Range), DIG (Counter-Intelligence), Punjab and DIG (Intelligence), Punjab till 2004.
Among his other past assignments in the state were ADGP Administration & Community Policing (2015-17), ADGP Provisioning & Modernization (2014-2015), ADGP Law & Order (2012-2015), ADGP Security (2012-2015), ADGP Traffic (2013-2014).
Gupta was decorated with Police Medal for Gallantry (1992) and Bar to Police Medal for Gallantry (1994) for display of exceptional courage, conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty of a high order. He was also decorated with the Police Medal for Meritorious Services by the President and the Presidents Police Medal for Distinguished Service (2010).
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