Ex-Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Anurag Kumar was on Friday appointed as the Commissioner of Delhi Police, replacing Satish Golcha, who was removed from the post and, in an unprecedented move, directed to report to the Lieutenant Governor’s office for his next posting.
Before his appointment, Kumar was serving as Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau. With more than three decades of experience in policing, intelligence and strategic security, he is regarded as one of the senior-most officers of the AGMUT cadre.
According to an order issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Kumar, a 1994-batch IPS officer of the AGMUT cadre, will assume charge from the date he takes over the post and continue until further orders. The order also directed Golcha to report to the Lieutenant Governor’s office, where he will await his next posting.
Golcha’s removal from the key post less than a year after his appointment is being seen as unusual as it comes amid scrutiny over the Delhi Police’s handling of the ongoing protest by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar—where social activist Sonam Wangchuk has been on a 20-day fast—and discrepancies in following administrative procedures, among other issues.
Golcha, who took charge as the 26th Commissioner of Delhi Police in August 2025, has been removed from the post in the middle of his tenure, which was due to continue until April 2027. He was serving as Director General of Tihar Jail before being appointed the Commissioner, a day after a man attacked Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta during a Jan Sunwai programme at her camp office, injuring her.
Golcha was left with more than a year before his retirement.
Kumar’s appointment comes a day after the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved his repatriation from the Intelligence Bureau to his parent AGMUT cadre for a period of three years, relaxing the IPS tenure policy.
Before moving to the Intelligence Bureau, Kumar served as Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in multiple Delhi Police districts.
He has nearly 32 years of experience across policing, administration and intelligence. In the Intelligence Bureau, Kumar worked on matters related to internal security and counter-terrorism, besides handling other sensitive assignments.
An engineering graduate, Kumar was awarded the Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 2010 and the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 2016. As Delhi Police Commissioner, he will lead one of the country’s largest metropolitan police forces. The organisation is responsible for law and order, crime prevention, traffic management and security across the national capital, including the protection of key government institutions, constitutional authorities, foreign missions and major public events.