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“I have highest regard for her”

- PHOTO: RAJEEV BHATT

CHANGE OF GUARD: Delhi’s new Police Commissioner Yudhbir Singh Dadwal in the hot seat at Police Headquarters soon after taking charge from K. K. Paul (standing) on Thursday.

NEW DELHI: Soon after taking charge on Thursday, Delhi’s new Police Commissioner Yudhbir Singh Dadwal said he has the highest regard for Kiran Bedi, the country’s first woman IPS officer now serving as Director-General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development.

“She is our senior colleague and everyone in the force has regard for her,” said Mr. Dadwal.

Asked what was the secret behind his emerging victorious in the race for the coveted post, Mr. Dadwal said: “I don’t think there is any secret behind it. You should address this question to the Government.”

The appointment of Mr. Dadwal, a 1974 batch IPS officer, to the top post at the Capital’s Police Headquarters had triggered an angry outburst from Ms. Bedi, a 1972 batch IPS officer, who termed the decision “regretful”.

“It is regretful because it is not fair to the system. This is the feedback that I have been getting through phone calls, messages and e-mails,” Ms. Bedi had said soon after word came about Mr. Dadwal’s appointment.

Meanwhile, listing his agenda as the new Police Commissioner, Mr. Dadwal said red-light jumping in the Capital would become history in a year’s time.

“We will install more cameras at traffic intersections across the city to make sure that those flouting traffic rules are brought to book. There is a huge variety of vehicles on the city roads, including buses, cars, motorcycles and cycles. We will earnestly take up this challenge of managing traffic in the Capital,” said Mr. Dadwal during his first interaction with media persons after taking charge from the outgoing Police Commissioner K. K. Paul.

Identifying night traffic on the roads as one of the prime areas of concern, the new Police Commissioner said: “Delhi’s population has increased several folds over the years, but resources have failed to keep pace with the burgeoning population. The Government is aware of the problem and we hope to get more manpower. We will also re-organise internally to put more personnel on the roads and employ advanced technology for better traffic management.”

Touching upon the burning issue of Blueline buses, Mr. Dadwal acknowledged the need to rein in the killer buses but refused to go into details. “The issue of Blueline buses has several aspects to it. We will discuss it in detail later,” he said.

Spelling out his other priorities, Mr. Dadwal said: “Professional excellence and humane policing will be the two major areas of priority. My endeavour will be to create fear in the minds of criminals and instil confidence in the hearts of law-abiding citizens. Redress of complaints has also been my priority and will continue to be so. Everyone will be heard and all complaints will be seen through. The number of criminal assault cases has gone down by 17 per cent over the years and we will continue to focus on safety of women and senior citizens.”

Hailing the Delhi police as among the best in the country, the Commissioner underlined the need to raise the benchmark to set higher standards for the police force in other States. “I have been in active policing all these years and have a clear perspective on how to go about it. Quality investigation, improved beat policing, better functioning of police stations, robust criminal intelligence, comprehensive training programmes and behaviour re-orientation will be some major areas of focus to ensure better policing,” he said, while acknowledging the need for better facilities for the rank and file in terms of proper housing, barracks renovation, clean toilets and good messes in the police stations.

Mr. Dadwal, who was in charge of security and other arrangements during the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi, asserted that he has well laid out plan for the upcoming 2010 Commonwealth Games here.

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