Counter terrorism expert, IPS officer GP Singh takes over as DGP Assam

New Delhi, February 1

The Assam Police has a new Police Chief in senior IPS officer Gyanendra Pratap Singh who has taken over as the new Director General of Police (DGP) of Assam.

Popularly known as GP Singh, he is known for his toughness and strictness in work and a strickler for law and order.

Singh was serving as the Special DGP (Law and Order) and also headed the Vigilance Bureau of Assam also led the Rhino Protection Task Force constituted by the state government in 2021.

The incumbent Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta who was serving as DGP Assam for three years retired on January 31.

Singh is a 1991-batch IPS officer from the Assam-Meghalaya cadre will take charge on February 1.

DGP GP Singh said, "I thank the people of Assam and the Honourable Chief Minister for giving me an opportunity like this…From my side, I want to assure everyone that I will do what is the best possible I can do for Assam. We will continue the pace that we have taken in the last three years, especially the way we have been working the last one-and-a-half years under the Chief Minister’s leadership. He has a big dream that Assam should feature among the country’s top five states and we will all work as much as is required to realise this dream".

After taking over as DGP,  GP Singh told media that he is with the force of 70,000 police personnel and thank them immensely for supporting him for three decades. 

DGP GP Singh expressed that he wants the Assam Police to be an example of good police public relation. He expressed that bad behaviour of policemen with the citizens won't be tolerated and atthe same time all grievances and issues of police would be looked into for quicker solutions.

Singh emphasized on a strong crime control, forensics and modernised investigation in Assam. 

As Special DG (L&O), Singh has been instrumental in setting up a system of zero tolerance towards terrorism and anti state activities. Under the leadership of Singh, Assam Police carried out numerous operations to counter terrorism and Maoism in last one year.

As IGP Guwahati earlier,  he was a key officer assigned to dismantle the network of banned militant groups such as ULFA and NDFB at a time when the city was grappling with the scourge of IED explosions.

In 2012, Singh was appointed as the IGP, BTAD, in Kokrajhar after ethnic clashes broke out in the Bodo belt.

Singh comes with an experience of serving in elite forces of the country like Special Protection Group. He had joined the elite Special Protection Group in New Delhi in 2002.

During this period, he achieved specialised capabilities in VVIP protection. In recognition of his capabilities, he was given the responsibility of heading the close protection detail of two successive Prime Ministers of India, both within and outside the country.

Singh was on central deputation and posted in NIA from 2013 to 2019. During this tenure, he worked extensively in the Northeast, Kashmir, Punjab, and the hinterland. He supervised the investigation of ISIS-related terror crimes in India as well as their international conspiracies.

He also supervised the investigation of the Samjhauta, Malegaon, Ajmer Sharif, and Mecca Masjid blast cases, along with the Pulwama, Uri, and Pathankot blast cases in Jammu and Kashmir. 

He led the NIA efforts in unearthing the involvement of separatist leaders in terror funding in Jammu and Kashmir.

However, he was brought back to Assam from NIA in December 2019 at a time when the CAA agitation in Assam was at its peak. 

Singh hails from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh and did his schooling and higher education in Lucknow.