GUWAHATI:
A few hours after he was appointed as the new Director General of Police (DGP) of Meghalaya, Lajja Ram Bishnoi, said that he will be taking charge this week.
“I will join within this week. It will be an opportunity for me to work in Meghalaya. I like the state and its people even though I have never worked there,” said Bishnoi, expressing happiness at getting a chance to work in the state.
Bishnoi, an IPS officer of 1991 batch, is presently working as Special Director General of Police (Training & Armed Police), Assam, and he is also the in-charge Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).
“From amongst the empanelled list of IPS officers duly recommended by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in its meeting held on February 9, 2022 and in the interest of public service, the governor of Meghalaya is pleased to appoint Dr Lajja Ram Bishnoi, IPS (RR 1991), Special Director General of Police(Training & Armed Police), Assam, Guwahati as the Director-General of Police (Head of Police Force), Meghalaya, Shillong in the Apex Scale of Pay (Level 17) in the Pay Matrix with effect from the date of taking over charge and until further orders,” a notification issued by Cyril VD Diengdoh, secretary (home & political department, Meghalaya government) said.
For the past several years, there had been much hue and cry over the appointment of a full-fledged DGP in Meghalaya. On February 9, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) had recommended the names of three senior Assam-Meghalaya cadre IPS officers for the post – Mukesh Agrawal, KV Singh Deo (both 1989 batch IPS officers) and L Ram Bishnoi (1991 batch) – who have been serving with the Assam government. Of the three, only Agrawal has served in Meghalaya.
When The Meghalayan approached Aggarwal, he refused to comment on Bishnoi’s appointment, and said, “I have nothing to speak on it.”
Earlier on April 4, a Guwahati-based businessman had also written to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) for appointment of a full-fledged Director General of Police (DGP) in Meghalaya. Identified as Luit Barman, owner of a pharmaceutical company, he, through a email to the CJI, that raised questions on the delay in appointment of a new DGP of the state.
“Meghalaya government is blatantly and arrogantly violating the orders of Supreme Court of India passed on July 3, 2018, in IA No 25307 of 2018 in writ petition No 310 of 1996 concerning the appointment of regular director general of police of the state,” wrote Barman, in his email to the CJI.
The last full-fledged DGP of Meghalaya was R Chandranathan, who retired on December 31, 2021. Following his retirement, Idashisha Nongrang, an IPS officer of the 1992 batch, had taken over as special DGP on January 1 and is still continuing to head the police department.