KATHMANDU, MAY 1
The government has decided to appoint Dhiraj Pratap Singh as the new inspector general of Nepal Police.
A meeting of the Council of Ministers held today took a decision to this effect.
Singh, who will be the 29th IGP, assumes office immediately, as his predecessor, Shailesh Thapa Kshetri, retired today after completing 30 years in Nepal Police.
Four additional inspectors general - Bishwaraj Pokhrel, Sahakul Bahadur Thapa, Rabindra Bahadur Dhanuk, and Singh - were vying for the top post.
Of all the candidates Singh was the junior-most AIG. Pokhrel and Thapa were promoted to the post during the tenure of the KP Sharma Oli-led government. The Sher Bahadur Deuba government, however, decided to appoint Singh as IGP to head nearly 80,000 personnel.
Police Rules have a provision that the government can appoint the police chief on the basis of merit and work execution. The rules state that the government's decisions should be based on the nominated candidate's ability to lead and encourage the entire police force and gracefully hold the responsibility of the position.
Born in 1969 in Bijaura of Dailekh district, Singh has a bachelor's degree in law and a master's degree in humanities.
He had competed for the post of inspector in 1992, along with the outgoing IGP Kshetri. However, he was only selected as an alternative and got into the force in the next round. Singh will serve for around one year as IGP before retiring after completing 30-year tenure in the police.
When Singh was a deputy inspector general of police, he headed Nepal Police in Madhes and the Central Investigation Bureau.
Singh had led police in Parsa and Dang districts as superintendent of police and as senior superintendent of police, he had headed the then Metropolitan Police Crime Division, Kathmandu, which is now called the Valley Crime Investigation Office.
A version of this article appears in the print on May 02, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
