Sumedh Singh Saini is an Indian police officer, and the former

Director general of police Director general of police (DGP) is a rank in the Indian Police Service, held by the highest ranking police officer in a State or a Union Territory of India, typically heading the state or the UT police force. The DGP is appointed by the cabin ...

(DGP) of Punjab Police. He has been heavily involved in policing both terrorist- and corruption-based matters and has a mixed reputation, being seen by some people as a firm upholder of the law and by others as a violator of human rights.

Career

Sumedh Saini joined the

Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj. Along with the Indian Administrative Service (IAS ...

(IPS) in 1982 and progressed to serve six districts as

Senior Superintendent of Police Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territories ...

(SSP) before succeeding

Anil Kaushik Anil Kaushik is an Indian National Congress Politician from Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. He is an ex-deputy mayor of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation. He has been appointed as the Navi Mumbai Congress President in 2018. Positions held * 2 ...

as the Director-General of Police (DGP) for the Indian State of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

on 15 March 2012. He is heading the State Police out of the seven Directors General in the State. The appointment made him the youngest DGP in India. Appointed very soon after a new government had been formed, involving the

Shiromani Akali Dal The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Akali Party'') is a centre-right sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are many ...

(SAD) and

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

(BJP), Saini was tasked with reducing crime and inhibiting the activities of people involved in the drug trade. Although supported by the

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Parkash Singh Badal Parkash Singh Badal ( pa, ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ ਸਿੰਘ ਬਾਦਲ; born 8 December 1927) is an Indian politician who was Chief Minister of Punjab state from 1970 to 1971, from 1977 to 1980, from 1997 to 2002, and from 2007 to 2017. He i ...

, the BJP claimed that the decision to appoint was a unilateral one and that they were not consulted. ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'' noted at the time of his promotion that Saini "... has been in and out of controversies — within the service he has his detractors as well as ardent followers in equal number besides a dedicated fan following among policemen who fought during terrorism." Saini has been a prominent figure in the efforts to maintain law and order in Punjab, in particular during a period in the 1980s and 1990s when terrorist activity was prevalent. In 1987, Saini won the highest award of Punjab for gallantry, in recognition of his leadership in operations against

Khalistani The Khalistan movement is a Sikh separatist movement seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing a sovereign state, called Khālistān (' Land of the Khalsa'), in the Punjab region. The proposed state would consist of land that cur ...

insurgents, and in 1991 he had been injured in an assassination attempt made in

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...

by the same insurgents. In 2005 he was described as a

Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates ...

figure who inspires fear in those whom he seeks to bring to justice. His methods have attracted complaints and caused him to be reported for alleged breaches of human rights, and he has also faced trial as a consequence of the

Central Bureau of Investigation The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governmen ...

(CBI) linking him as the prime suspect in the alleged disappearance and murder of three men. The CBI investigation was deemed to be unlawful by the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in December 2011 but court proceedings were still ongoing in 2014. His activities in corruption investigations have won praise, in particular a 2002 case that involved the Punjab Public Service Commission and various High Court judges. Saini was transferred from his post as DGP in October 2015, allegedly after pressure was put on the state government by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

. He became chairman of the Police Housing Corporation, and his successor as DGP was announced as being Suresh Arora. Concern had been expressed about the police reaction to anti-desecration protests at the village of Behbal Kalan, in

Faridkot district Faridkot district is one of the 23 districts in the state of Punjab, India with Faridkot city as the district headquarters. Etymology The district is named after its headquarters, Faridkot city, which in turn is named in the honor of Baba F ...

, which had led to the deaths of two protestors and left several others injured.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saini, Sumedh Singh Indian police chiefs Punjabi people Year of birth missing (living people) Living people

Career

See also

References