The news is official now. Andhra Pradesh is welcoming its new deputy general of police, Harish Kumar Gupta, a 1992 cadre IPS officer, who will be replacing the incumbent DGP Tirumala Rao. The government of Andhra Pradesh has issued a new order to this effect, and it will be coming to implementation from tomorrow, January 31.
The point to be noted here is that Harish Kumar Gupta is no stranger to Andhra Pradesh either. He earlier served as the principal secretary to the home department, and was later appointed as the interim DGP by the election commission during the electoral roll in AP back in May 2024 right before the election.
Harish Kumar Gupta reportedly played a significant role in the impartial law and order maintenance during the highly intense election period in Andhra Pradesh. Though there were occasional disturbances here and there, Mr. Gupta is largely accredited for the safe handling of the sensitive election campaign.
Cut to now again, Harish Gupta is being reappointed as the DGP of Andhra Pradesh. This move comes at a time when there are growing demands to streamline the home department and crack down on the criminal culture that was nurtured by the previous government.
Does this mean CM Chandrababu is going to give a freehand to the new DGP and come down heavily on the antisocial groups from the earlier tenure? We will know the answer soon as Harish Gupta takes charge tomorrow and will be in power at least till August 2025.