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From sudden departures of chiefs and disruptions to service extensions and surprise appointments, here’s how the Delhi Police top brass has witnessed extraordinary changes since 2016.
Anurag Kumar, a 1994-batch officer of the AGMUT cadre, made his career almost entirely in the intelligence establishment.
For decades, becoming the Commissioner of Delhi Police was considered the pinnacle of policing in the national capital, a post that usually came with institutional stability, power, profile, a defined tenure and expected next ones.
But, since 2016, the office has seen a series of developments that would have been difficult to imagine in earlier decades. A commissioner left the leadership of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) within a year before becoming part of one of India’s biggest institutional confrontations. Another led to unprecedented public protests by serving police personnel in the backdrop of clashes with lawyers. One led the force for about 15 months only with the additional charge of Commissioner, an arrangement without precedent in the recent history of Delhi Police before receiving an important appointment barely 40 days before retirement. Another commissioner was appointed following the controversial service extension, while two officers were asked to remain in post only as a stop-gap arrangement. Now, a serving commissioner has been replaced even before completing one year in office.
Individually, each episode may seem administrative. Together, they tell a bigger story about the leadership of Delhi’s police force.
Alok Kumar Verma: Brief stint before national institutional fight
Alok Kumar Verma took charge as Delhi Police Commissioner on February 29, 2016, but spent less than a year in the post before being appointed Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation.
His Delhi tenure was initially relatively tumultuous, but in reality, it was the calm before the storm. His subsequent transfer put him at the center of a bitter confrontation with then CBI special director Rakesh Asthana in one of the country’s most consequential institutional battles.
His departure marked the beginning of a decade in which Delhi Police leadership would rarely follow the conventional path. The controversy also created a major hurdle in selecting AGMUT cadre officers for top sensitive posts.
Amulya Patnaik: Daring an unprecedented rebellion within the army
Amulya Patnaik served a full three-year term between January 2017 and February 2020, overseeing Delhi’s most turbulent law and order period.
His tenure saw anti-CAA protests, violence at Jamia Millia Islamia, attack inside Jawaharlal Nehru University and Northeast Delhi riots.
But the most decisive institutional moment perhaps came in November 2019. Following the clash at Tis Hazari court, thousands of serving Delhi Police personnel gathered outside the police headquarters and demanded action against lawyers accused of attacking policemen. The demonstration by serving members of a disciplined force was unprecedented in the history of Delhi Police and highlighted the extraordinary pressure on the leadership of the organisation.
Although the protest was against lawyers rather than Patnaik personally, it is one of the rare occasions when serving police personnel gathered publicly in such numbers during the Commissioner’s tenure.
SN Srivastava: Commissioner who was not
It appears that no Delhi Police Commissioner in recent decades has had a more unusual administrative tenure than that of SN Srivastava.
A few days before Patnaik’s retirement in February 2020, the Center brought him in as special commissioner from the CRPF. When Delhi was facing long protests in Jamia, he was called a trouble-shooter. He was immediately given the additional charge of Commissioner and effectively led the Delhi Police during the COVID-19 pandemic, investigation of Delhi riots and farmers’ protests.
Yet, despite serving as the city police chief for about 15 months, the government did not appoint him as a regular commissioner. On May 21, 2021, about 40 days before his retirement, the Home Ministry issued orders appointing him as Principal Commissioner.
This arrangement remains virtually unprecedented in the Delhi Police, with any recent Commissioner spending almost his entire tenure in additional charge only before receiving a formal appointment a few weeks before retirement.
Balaji Srivastava: Caretaker for one month
After the retirement of SN Srivastava, Balaji Srivastava was given the additional charge of Delhi Police Commissioner. An officer of the AGMUT cadre, his tenure lasted less than a month before the Center announced his next appointment, asking him to hand over command.
Such a brief caretaker arrangement has been unusual in Delhi Police, where succession has traditionally been finalized before leaving the post.
Entry of Rakesh Asthana: Commissioner appointed through extension of service.
The appointment of Rakesh Asthana in July 2021 was extraordinary in itself. Days before his scheduled retirement, the Center gave him a one-year extension in service and also appointed him Commissioner of Delhi Police, triggering political criticism and litigation before the Supreme Court. In a rare move, the government did not choose an AGMUT cadre officer for the post, leaving many disappointed. The Center backed its decision to bring in the Gujarat-cadre officer, noting that the national capital needs a top police officer with extensive experience.
After Asthana completed his one-year tenure, the government decided not to continue him beyond July 2022, surprising many.
Sanjay Arora: An exception in a turbulent decade
After Asthana, the government chose another non-AGMUT cadre officer. Against this backdrop, Sanjay Arora’s tenure was particularly notable because it was uneventful from an administrative perspective.
He served a full three-year term, overseeing the G20 summit, Parliament security breach investigation and major security operations in the national capital.
Neither his appointment nor his removal was accompanied by the kind of extraordinary administrative development that had characterized many of his predecessors.
SBK Singh: Commissioner for three weeks in an unprecedented stop-gap arrangement
If SN Srivastava’s tenure was unprecedented as he remained the Delhi Police chief with only additional charge during his entire tenure, Shashi Bhushan Kumar (SBK) Singh’s appointment was unprecedented and had one of the shortest tenures for a different reason.
Following the retirement of Sanjay Arora on July 31, 2025, the Home Ministry did not immediately appoint a full commissioner. Instead, it handed over the additional charge of Delhi Police Commissioner to the then Home Guard Director General SBK Singh with effect from August 1.
SBK Singh’s brief tenure also ended unusually. After holding the additional charge of Delhi Police Commissioner for nearly three weeks, Satish Golcha was replaced by Satish Golcha, a day after Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was attacked during a public meeting at her residence. Although the government has not officially linked the leadership change to the incident, the timing has made it one of the most unusual transitions in recent years.
Satish Golcha: Another unprecedented exit
Finally, the government again reposed confidence in the AGMUT-cadre officer after almost four years. Golcha’s tenure was not marked by any major public controversies or law-and-order crises that many earlier commissioners had to face.
But suddenly, less than a year later, the Center replaced him with Anurag Kumar.
The decision made Golcha one of the very few Delhi Police Commissioners in recent decades who was removed before completing a year in office, despite no reason being publicly stated or any major controversy surrounding his tenure. No new assignment has been announced for him yet.
Anurag Kumar
Anurag Kumar’s appointment adds another unusual chapter to the recent history of Delhi Police leadership. However, the 1994 batch IPS officer of AGMUT cadre, Kumar has distanced himself from the Delhi Police ecosystem For more than two decades.
After serving in Delhi Police including as Deputy Commissioner of Police (North), he went on deputation to the Intelligence Bureau in 2005. Over the next two decades, he built his career almost entirely in the intelligence establishment, eventually rising to the post of Special Director in the IB before returning to his parent cadre and being appointed Commissioner of Delhi Police.
His appointment is significant not only because he is from the AGMUT cadre, but also because he returns to lead a force that has largely grown without him.
The decision also continues a broader trend in the Centre’s approach to the selection of Delhi Police Commissioners. Instead of promoting a serving officer from within the existing Delhi Police leadership, the government decided to bring back an officer whose experience has been primarily shaped by intelligence and national security operations.
About the author
Ankur Sharma, who has spent over 17 years in journalism, is an Associate Editor specializing in internal security and strategic affairs. He covers the Home Ministry, paramilitary forces and Centre…read more
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