IPS officer V K Bhawra appointed as Punjab's DGP amid row over PM's security lapse

Senior IPS officer Viresh Kumar Bhawra has been appointed as the new director-general of Punjab police, an official order said on Saturday. The order came just hours before the announcement of the dates for the assembly elections in five states including Punjab. Bhawra, who was the DGP of Punjab Home Guards, replaced officiating DGP Siddharth Chattopadhyaya.

Chattopadhyaya along with 13 other police and civil officers appeared on Friday at Ferozepur before a three-member panel formed by the Union Home Ministry to



inquire into the "serious lapses" in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security during his Ferozepur tour.

The Charanjit Singh Channi government selected the 1987 batch officer Bhawra out of a panel of three officers shortlisted by the Union Public Service Commission.

Punjab got its third DGP in a span of three months. A few days back, the UPSC had sent a panel of three IPS officers  Dinkar Gupta, V K Bhawra and Prabodh Kumar for the appointment of a regular director general of police of Punjab.