Narco terrorism expert and former Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta is the new Chief of NIA

New Delhi, June 23

The Centre has appointed former DGP Punjab Police, Dinkar Gupta as the new Director General of National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The Appointments Committee has approved the appointment of Gupta as the NIA chief till March 31, 2024, the date of his retirement.

DG CRPF Kuldeep Singh had been handling the additional charge of NIA after YC Modi the first Chief of NIA retired in May 2021. 

Gupta took over as the state police chief in February 2019, superseding five officers, two of whom fought a long and unsuccessful legal battle against him.

It was during his tenure that the Punjab police busted a number of terror modules and solved the cases of targeted killings Many notorious gangsters were also eliminated.

He heads the Punjab Police Housing Corporation presently. He was replaced from the position of DGP Punjab after a coup in Capt Amrinder Singh's government.

During his stint as the police chief, he sought to overhaul training in a bid to make Punjab Police a tech-savvy force.
Prior to his elevation as the state police chief, Gupta was posted as DGP (Intelligence), a role in which he handled Punjab State Intelligence Wing, State Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and Organised Crime Control Unit (OCCU). 

He also has to his credit, busting the narco-terrorism network in Punjab besides wiping off gangsters. It was under his watch that Punjab Police extradited two of them. He was also the first to highlight the threat posed by drones from across the border.

Gupta was the only officer from Punjab to be empanelled for appointment to Additional Director General level post at the Centre in 2018. He was on central deputation with the MHA for eight years, from June 2004 to July 2012. During this period, he was also assigned as head of the Dignitary Protection Division of the MHA.

In Punjab, he served as district police chief of Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur for more than seven years during the peak of terrorism in Punjab. He has also served as DIG (Jalandhar Range), DIG (Ludhiana Range), DIG (Counter-Intelligence), Punjab and DIG (Intelligence), Punjab till 2004.
Among his other past assignments in the state were ADGP Administration & Community Policing (2015-17), ADGP Provisioning & Modernization (2014-2015), ADGP Law & Order (2012-2015), ADGP Security (2012-2015), ADGP Traffic (2013-2014).

Gupta was decorated with Police Medal for Gallantry (1992) and Bar to Police Medal for Gallantry (1994) for display of exceptional courage, conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty of a high order. He was also decorated with the Police Medal for Meritorious Services by the President and the Presidents Police Medal for Distinguished Service (2010).
Gupta was a Visiting Professor (2000-01) at the George Washington University, Washington DC and American University, where he designed a course titled ‘Governments under Siege: Understanding Terrorism and Terrorists’ in January-May 2001.

In 1999, Gupta was awarded the British Chevening Gurukul Scholarship by the British Council at London School of Economics, London.