Bengal government appoints IPS Rajeev Kumar as Director General of Police

The West Bengal government on Wednesday appointed former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar as the state's new Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG and IGP). He took charge of the state police force, replacing Manoj Malviya, who retired during the day.

Regarded close to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Rajeev Kumar is a 1989-batch IPS officer.

Kumar was also the principal secretary of the Information and Technology Department before he assumed office as the top cop of the West Bengal Police force. He had earlier served as the additional DGP of the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID). He was transferred as the ADG CID ahead of the Lok Sabha election in 2019.

Rajeev Kumar was under the scanner of the CBI in connection with the Saradha Chit Fund case. The move did not sit well with the Chief Minister, who even staged a sit-in protest against the searches led by the agency at Kumar's residence. At the time, the CBI alleged that Rajeev Kumar had been skipping the summons and was absconding.

After he got temporary relief from the CBI, IPS Rajeev Kumar was transferred to the post of principal secretary of the IT Ministry.