RP Agarwal gets temporary charge of DGP

SHILLONG: Director General (prisons) RP Agarwal will officiate as the new DGP pending the approval of UPSC.
An official notification issued on Friday said that Agarwal has been temporarily allowed to look after the office of DGP in addition to his own current duties.
The appointment is in the wake of retirement of DG (Civil Defence and Home Guards R Awasthi on Sunday.
Awasthi was holding the temporary charge of DGP after SB Singh retired on July 31. With the appointment of a permanent DGP pending, Chief Secretary Y Tsering will meet UPSC on Monday to discuss the names sent by the government.
Earlier, the Supreme Court in its verdict on July 3 had said UPSC would send three names to the state government for the appointment of new DGP from among the several names sent by the government.
An official source said on Saturday that all the necessary papers were sent to UPSC for appointment of a new DGP. “Following this, UPSC wanted to have a meeting with the chief secretary,” the official added. The Apex Court had made it mandatory for UPSC to effect the appointment of a new DGP to prevent any malpractice unlike the earlier trend of State Security Commission recommending the names for the appointment of the new DGP to be finally decided by the state government. The Supreme Court had banned the appointment of acting DGPs.