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Kiran Bedi seeks voluntary retirement

NEW DELHI: Kiran Bedi, the first woman Indian Police Service officer, has put in her papers seeking voluntary retirement, almost two years ahead of her superannuation, to “focus on her social work commitments and academics.”

The decision comes almost four months after she expressed disappointment over denial of the post of Delhi Police Commissioner to her.

Director-General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development at present, Ms. Bedi applied for voluntary retirement over a fortnight ago and is awaiting sanction from the Union Home Ministry. According to Home Ministry sources, her application has been received and is being processed under the rules.

The Magsaysay awardee police officer, who served the United Nations as Police Adviser in the Peacekeeping Department and was conferred the U.N. medal for outstanding service, said her decision for premature retirement was well thought out and had nothing to do with her having been denied the top post in the Delhi police.

Livid over the appointment of her junior Y.S. Dadwal as Police Commissioner of Delhi, Ms. Bedi had gone on a protest leave about four months ago.

She had termed the decision to appoint Mr. Dadwal regretful as it was “not fair to the system.”

“I had been thinking about it [voluntary retirement] for quite a long time. Now I want to move on to do something creative, dynamic and challenging. I will be involved in a large number of voluntary works in rural areas and slums,” Ms. Bedi said, adding that her focus would be academics and she might also opt for a teaching job.

“Through my two non-governmental organisations, I will concentrate more on social work. I will also work on police and prison reforms from outside,” said Ms. Bedi.

As for joining politics, she said it was not her “beat.”

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