Government of West Bengal to constitute self panel to appoint DGP

To choose the state's Director General of Police (DGP) without waiting for approval from the Centre, the West Bengal government is forming a selection committee. Following Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, the West government will be the third state to do so.

On Tuesday, the cabinet of Mamata Banerjee decided to form the committee. The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh also approved similar guidelines for the selection of the State police chief without the Center's approval in November 2024, about two years after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab introduced legislation to independently appoint the State Director General of Police (DGP) without the Center's nod.

Currently, Rajeev Kumar (IPS: 1989: WB) has been the acting DGP for the Bengal government for the past few months.