Preeta Verma, Bhrigu Srinivasan Among Top Contenders for Bihar DGP Post
Acting DGP Preeta Verma and NSG Director General Bhrigu Srinivasan are top contenders for Bihar's police chief after Vinay Kumar took voluntary retirement.
Two senior Bihar-cadre IPS officers, acting Director General of Police (DGP) Preeta Verma and Bhrigu Srinivasan, are among the top contenders for state police chief. Verma, a 1991-batch officer, is the acting DGP. Srinivasan, of the 1992 batch, is Director General of the National Security Guard (NSG) in the Government of India.
The vacancy arose when Vinay Kumar, a 1991-batch IPS officer and the state's DGP, applied for voluntary retirement on September 25. The Home Department accepted it with immediate effect, waiving the three-month notice period. His regular tenure was to run until December 13, 2026. The General Administration Department appointed him Chief Information Commissioner, from the date he assumes charge. Kumar had recently gone on leave for health reasons.
Verma took over as acting DGP when Kumar went on leave earlier in September and is to continue until further orders. She is the first woman IPS officer to hold the state's DGP charge in an acting capacity. Reports describe her as the senior-most among the officers being considered for the permanent post.
Kumar himself had been named DGP in December 2024. He succeeded Alok Raj, a 1989-batch officer who had been officiating since August 30, 2024. Kumar is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur, and the appointment was to give him the minimum two-year tenure the Supreme Court has laid down for DGPs.
The Home Department has begun preparing a panel of 20 eligible IPS officers. Names reported as being considered include Verma, Srinivasan, Jitendra Singh Gangwar (1993), who heads the Vigilance Investigation Bureau in Bihar, Jitendra Kumar (1993), Kundan Krishnan (1994) and Amit Kumar (1994).
The selection follows the Supreme Court's police-reform directions. The state sends a panel of eligible officers to the Union Public Service Commission, which shortlists names from which the state picks one. Srinivasan's candidacy needs his release from central deputation, a step the Government of India controls.
Until a regular DGP is notified, Verma holds additional charge as acting DGP.
