Besides deft diplomatic manoeuvrings, two Jharkhand cadre IPS officers played critical roles in the extradition of 26/11 mastermind Tahawwur Rana from the United States, carrying out the operation without a glitch. Ashish Batra, an IPS officer of the 1997 batch and an Inspector General (IG) in the NIA, led the Indian team to whom the Americans handed over Rana. Jaya Roy, also from the Jharkhand cadre of 2011, assisted Batra.Jaya is a Deputy Inspector General and the NIA’s Senior Public Relations Officer. Many in the NIA believe her presence gave the Indian team strength at the legal and media management levels. Prabhat Kumar, an IPS from the 2019 batch of Chattisgarh cadre, also played a critical role. He took the custody of Rana in the US and coordinated the entire security drill from Delhi Airport to Tihar Jail.’24-batch officers head to ManipurEthnic violence-hit Manipur has received the highest-ever number of allocations of Indian Police Service (IPS) officers. The Centre has deputed 16 2024 batch officers, recently inducted into service, to the state. Many in the North Block believe the government’s move is an attempt to stabilise the situation in the troubled state. The step aims to strengthen the administrative machinery and improve policing and intelligence coordination in Manipur, which has experienced intermittent violence for the past two years.Enduring bonds, lasting memoriesSheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, paid his first official visit to India on April 8-9. The Crown Prince presented Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a symbolic gift: a replica of the bisht (a traditional embroidered cloak worn over the kandura) his grandfather, His Highness Sheikh Rashid, wore. The gesture reflects the deep-rooted and historic ties between the UAE and India, spanning generations of political friendship. In a further tribute to shared history, the Crown Prince also gifted an original newspaper featuring coverage of a pivotal event from August 1984. It highlighted the heroic role played by his father, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, then UAE Minister of Defence and now the Ruler of Dubai, in the rescue operation of Indian Airlines Flight 421. On August 24, 1984, seven members of the banned All India Sikh Students Federation hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 421, a Boeing 737-2A8, carrying 74 passengers. En route from Delhi to Srinagar, the plane was diverted first to Lahore, then to Karachi, and finally to Dubai. In Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed successfully negotiated the safe release of all passengers and secured the peaceful surrender of the hijackers to UAE authorities—an act hailed as key in the UAE-India cooperation.Chandigarh DGP appointed DIG BSFIn an unprecedented move, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has recently transferred Chandigarh’s officiating Director General of Police (DGP), Surendra Singh Yadav. The 1997 batch IPS officer of the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories) cadre has gone to the Border Security Force (BSF) as a Deputy Inspector General (DIG). Yadav’s reassignment is considered a demotion in rank. It reflects the Centre’s dominance in postings and appointments of IPS officers. Officials in the MHA are of the view that with the appointment of Yadav, the Centre has sent a message to other IPS officers in different states at the Additional Director General (ADG) or Inspector General (IG) rank and are still not empanelled at the central level. The exercise requires 360-degree vigilance clearance. Within the police hierarchy, a DIG is significantly junior compared to a DGP.
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