CHANDIGARH: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Thursday cleared the appointment of former Punjab police chief and 1987-batch IPS officer Dinkar Gupta as the director-general of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Posted as DGP-cum-chairman of the Punjab Police Housing Corporation, Gupta's appointment is up to the date of his superannuation on March 31, 2024, or till further orders, whichever takes place earlier. Considered close to then CM Captain Amarinder Singh, Gupta took over as Punjab police chief on February 7, 2019, by superseding many senior IPS officers.
Gupta was on deputation with MHA for 8 years
His senior batch officers Mohammad Mustafa and Siddhartha Chattopadhyaya had unsuccessfully challenged his appointment to the Supreme Court. However, after Charanjit Singh Channi took over as CM, Gupta was replaced with 1988-batch officer Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota and was on October 4 last year appointed the Punjab Police Housing Corporation chairman.
Gupta worked in the central government under the ministry of home affairs on deputation for eight years from June 2004 to July 2012.
His wife and 1987-batch IAS officer Vinni Mahajan had served as chief secretary of Punjab in the Amarinder government from June 2020 to September 2021.
She was replaced by 1990-batch IAS officer Anirudh Tewari after Channi took over. Mahajan was appointed secretary of drinking water and sanitation dept in the Union government on December 27.
