Alok Verma to be next top cop in Delhi

17 February, New Delhi

Alok Verma, who is presently the Director-General (Prisons) DG of Tihar Jail, will be the next Delhi Police Commissioner, official sources said Wednesday. Verma, a 1979 batch IPS officer, will be replacing present Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi.

According to sources, his name was cleared in the evening as Mr Bassi is due to retire on February 29. Among the contenders, who were racing for top post in Delhi, he was the senior most officer in the category.

Other contenders included Special Commissioner of Police (Special Unit) Dharmendra Kumar and Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Deepak Mishra.

The present top cop is one of the contenders for the post of Information Commissioner in Central Information Commission (CIC) and is expected to be given the post. Verma is likely to take over as the next Commissioner of Police in Delhi on March 1. A selection committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to meet soon to choose on names for three vacant posts of Information Commissioner in the transparency watchdog, sources said.