The Chhattisgarh government has submitted a panel of three candidates to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for the position of the state's new Director General of Police (DGP). This decision comes as the tenure of the current DGP, Ashok Juneja, is set to end on February 5, 2025.

The new DGP must be announced by the evening of February 5, and a new head of Chhattisgarh Police will be in place within the next 55 days.

The three shortlisted candidates for the DGP post are Pavandev and Arundev Gautam, both from the 1992 IPS batch, and Himanshu Gupta from the 1994 IPS batch. While the initial panel included five names, including SRP Kalluri and Pradeep Gupta, the final panel was narrowed down to these three candidates.

To be eligible for the DGP position, candidates must have a minimum of 30 years of service in the Indian Police Service (IPS). With DGP Ashok Juneja's retirement scheduled for February 5, 2025, the seniority order for the new DGP is as follows: Pavandev (1992 batch) is the most senior, followed by Arundev Gautam (also from the 1992 batch), and Himanshu Gupta (1994 batch).

Among the other candidates, GP Singh's service has already ended, while Pradeep Gupta from the 1995 batch will complete 30 years of service by January 2025, making him eligible for consideration. The state government has the discretion to select the candidates it wishes to include in the panel.

However, the entire selection process, from the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), takes time, which is why UPSC typically requests the panel three months in advance.

Urgency of the Process

Given the time-sensitive nature of the selection, the UPSC and MHA will need to prioritize the process to ensure that the final decision on the new DGP is made before February 5, 2025. This means that by the evening of February 5, Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sahay must announce the new head of Chhattisgarh Police.