On Thursday, Senior Indian Police Service officer Gyanendra Pratap Singh, also known as GP Singh, assumed his new role as the Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Singh, an Indian Police Service officer from the 1991 batch belonging to the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, assumed command from the acting chief and special director general Vitul Kumar at the CRPF headquarters.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet named him the Director General of CRPF on January 18, 2025, with his tenure starting from the day he takes office. Singh will serve in this position until his retirement on November 30, 2027.
Prior to his appointment, Singh occupied several significant roles in law enforcement, such as the Director General of Assam Police. Throughout the years, he has been instrumental in counter-insurgency efforts, police reforms, and upholding law and order. As the newly appointed head of the CRPF, India's most extensive paramilitary organization, Singh will oversee its nationwide operations, which include counter-insurgency, internal security, and law enforcement responsibilities in areas prone to conflict.
His leadership coincides with a period when the CRPF is crucial to national security and counter-terrorism operations. Born on November 8, 1967, in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, Singh completed his schooling and higher education in Lucknow, where he earned both a B.Sc. and an M.Sc. in Economics.
After completing his training at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad, Singh began his career in Assam in 1992, a period when there was a significant insurgency in the Northeast. He worked as the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) in Sonitpur, the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) in Rangia, and ASP in Nalbari, playing a significant role in anti-militancy efforts in Lower Assam.
Singh occupied significant roles such as Superintendent of Police (SP) in Jorhat, Guwahati, and Barpeta. Notably, during his tenure, Jorhat carried out effective anti-terrorist missions without the army's support.
In 2002, he became a member of the Special Protection Group (SPG) in New Delhi, tasked with safeguarding Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh. Between 2013 and 2019, Singh held the position of Inspector General (IG) at the NIA, where he supervised the investigation of significant cases including the Samjhauta attacks, Malegaon, Ajmer Sharif, and Mecca Masjid bombings, as well as assaults on Indian Army personnel in Pulwama, Uri, and Pathankot. He spearheaded initiatives to disrupt terrorist funding networks in Jammu and Kashmir.
During the December 2019 protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, Singh was reassigned to Assam as the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) for Law and Order. He later took on the role of director for the Bureau of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption and led the Rhino Protection Task Force. In February 2023, he was elevated to the position of Director General of Police (DGP) of Assam.