Rajasthan is poised to welcome eight new Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, following the recent approval by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for the promotion of senior Rajasthan Police Service (RPS) officers to the IPS cadre.
According to sources, the final notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs is expected to be issued next week.
The decision comes after a meeting of the selection committee held in Delhi, where key officials including Chief Secretary Sudhansh Pant, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Anand Kumar, Director General of Police (DGP) UR Sahoo, and officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs were present. During this meeting, the names of 24 senior RPS officers were forwarded to fill eight IPS vacancies for the year 2023.
The officers selected for promotion are Kelaram, Lokesh Sonwal, and Gordhanlal Sonkaria from the 1997 batch, and Ratan Singh, Mahaveer Singh Ranawat, Pyarelal Shivran, Satveer Singh, and Satnam Singh from the 1998 batch.
One notable aspect of this promotion process was the inclusion of Lokesh Sonwal in the revised seniority list, which shifted the dynamics of the selection. Sonwal had previously been involved in the controversial ‘monthly bribe’ case of 2013, in which he was acquitted by a trial court in Ajmer in August 2023. It was alleged that Sonwal, then serving as the Additional SP of Ajmer, was involved in a bribery scheme orchestrated by the then Superintendent of Police, Rajesh Meena. The court’s acquittal became final after the state government chose not to appeal the decision.
This development led to changes in the seniority list, with Sonwal’s name being added and RPS officer Piyush Dixit being moved to the ninth position. As a result, Dixit did not make the cut for this year’s promotion, leaving only the top eight officers promoted to the IPS cadre.
With these promotions, the total number of IPS officers in Rajasthan’s cadre will rise to 206, further strengthening the state’s police force.
