IIT Graduate To IPS Officer, A Look At Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar’s Inspiring Story – News18

Ashok Kumar is one of the most popular DGPs Uttarakhand has had. An IPS officer of the 1989 batch and alumnus of IIT-Delhi, Kumar is known for his sheer determination and courage when it comes to serving the state and the country. He loves working for people and enjoys contributing towards the eradication of the evils of society.

Born to a shopkeeper’s family in the village of Kurana, Panipat district of Haryana on November 20, 1964, Ashok has been serving as Uttarakhand DGP since 2020. He went to a nearby government school in villages where he studied till Class 10. He was offered a scholarship from a college in Sonipat.

Speaking about his college, Ashok said, “Sonipat was very far from my village compared to Panipat. This college offered me double the scholarship that was offered by the Haryana board. I was on the merit list of the Haryana board. All my teachers wanted me to become an engineer or a doctor. But I was mortally afraid of dissecting frogs. So, the engineering stream was decided and for Class 11, I came to District Sonipat.”

DGP Ashok studied Mechanical Engineering at IIT Delhi. It was during his internship at Usha Fans when he realised that he could not cope with eight hours of boring work and he decided to try for the civil services. He shared, “I worked hard for two years, the only time I burnt the midnight oil. I was never studious. I loved the preparation for this exam.”

In 1989, he became an IPS officer. He was first posted in Allahabad. He also served as ASP in Aligarh and Nainital. In 1994, when he was serving in Nainital, two notorious criminals of the Heera Singh gang were killed by the police. The operation lasted for 3 hours in which 3,000 bullets were fired from both sides.

DGP Ashok Kumar added, “To begin with, I was in a dilemma whether I had joined the right service, but today I can say that I made the right choice.”