Policing is rarely one-dimensional. It can mean standing on the ground during a law-and-order challenge, directing a major investigation, managing thousands of personnel, strengthening police welfare or adapting an entire force to new criminal laws.
For Shalini Singh, IPS, these have all been chapters of the same career.
A 1996-batch AGMUT cadre officer, Singh joined the Indian Police Service on September 4, 1996. Her qualifications include B.Sc., LL.B. and LL.M. Over the years, her career has taken her through field policing, specialised assignments and senior command positions across the country.
Today, she leads Puducherry Police as Director General of Police, a position she assumed on August 12, 2024.
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From Delhi’s Field Policing to Wider Responsibilities
Singh’s early career included important field assignments in Delhi Police, including responsibilities as DCP in South-West and South-East Delhi.
Her service later took her to Arunachal Pradesh, where she served as DCP, before she moved through other specialised responsibilities.
She also served with the Intelligence Bureau, adding an intelligence dimension to a career that had already involved direct policing and administration.
Another significant chapter came in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, where she served as Inspector General of Police, Law & Order.
By then, her experience had stretched across very different policing environments — from the dense urban landscape of Delhi to the geographically distinct challenges of the islands and the Northeast.
Leading Delhi Police Through Difficult Years
Singh returned to Delhi Police in senior leadership roles and, in 2019, became Joint Commissioner of Police, Western Range.
The assignment placed her in command of multiple police districts and a large force.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, she was responsible for maintaining policing operations while the city faced an unprecedented public emergency. Her responsibilities included keeping police personnel functioning while ensuring that public grievances and essential needs were addressed.
Her career in Delhi subsequently moved through senior assignments including Welfare, Economic Offences Wing and Crime Branch.
In 2024, she became the first woman to head the Delhi Police Crime Branch, taking charge of one of the force’s most important investigative units.
The Kanjhawala Inquiry
One of the most high-profile responsibilities of her Delhi tenure came after the Kanjhawala incident in January 2023. The Ministry of Home Affairs sought a detailed report from Delhi Police, and Singh headed the committee tasked with examining the police response.
The inquiry examined the response of police personnel and highlighted shortcomings in coordination. Its findings were followed by action against police personnel and recommendations concerning police response, surveillance and infrastructure.
It was a responsibility that placed Singh not merely in the position of investigating a case, but of examining how the policing system itself had responded to a crisis.
A New Chapter in Puducherry
When Singh took charge as DGP Puducherry in August 2024, she brought with her nearly three decades of experience across different areas of policing.
Her tenure has placed considerable emphasis on citizen-facing policing, road safety, women and child safety, scientific investigation, cyber capabilities and implementation of the new criminal laws.
Among the initiatives launched during this period is Makkal Mandram, through which senior police officers hear public grievances at police stations every Saturday.
For children, Pugar Petti provides a channel to raise concerns about abuse and exploitation. Mission Veera Mangai focuses on self-defence training for girls, while Mission Zero Fatality puts road deaths at the centre of a dedicated road-safety effort.
Puducherry Police has also strengthened scientific investigation through a Mobile Forensic Van, expanded cyber-related training and conducted capacity-building programmes for personnel dealing with the new criminal laws.
At the Helm of Puducherry Police
Singh’s official career record reflects a journey through almost every major layer of policing — field command, law and order, intelligence, welfare, economic offences, crime investigation and senior administration.
Her service has also been recognised with the Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 2012 and the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 2022.
Now, as DGP Puducherry, the 1996-batch officer stands at another significant point in a career spanning nearly three decades.
From commanding police districts in Delhi to heading the Crime Branch and examining one of the country’s most closely watched policing failures, Singh’s career has continually placed her where policing demands more than routine administration.
In Puducherry, that experience is now being channelled into a police force that is working simultaneously on crime, citizens, technology, safety, investigation and the welfare of its own personnel.
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