IPS officer Rameshwar Singh Thakur new HPPSC chief

SHIMLA: Inspector general of police (crime investigation department) Rameshwar Singh Thakur is new chairman of Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (HPPSC) after senior member Rachna Gupta refused to accept the post in the face of objections from the opposition Congress.

Chief secretary R D Dhiman on Thursday notified senior IPS officer Thakur’s appointment for a term of 6 years or until he turns 62. Three other members—former IAS officer Rakesh Sharma, Colonel Rajesh Kumar Sharma (Retd), and professor Nain Singh—were appointed. Thakur is from Lohali village next to Shimla’s Jubbarhatti airport and before police, he was a Short Service Commission officer in the Army. He joined the Officers Training Academy (OTA) in October 1985 and was commissioned into the infantry, where he served from 1986 to 1991. In 2001, he was also selected for the elite Special Protection Group.