Only what is on the public record appears below. Where a date is known it is given; where a period is known but not its precise boundaries, it is described as a period.
The chapters
Five turning points. On a wide screen the chapters run left to right — scroll the track, or use the arrow keys once it has focus.
1996
Selected as a direct recruit through the Union Public Service Commission examination and appointed to the Indian Police Service on 27 September 1996, with allotment to the Gujarat cadre. He arrives from Karnataka with an electrical engineering degree and postgraduate study behind him.
CBI
A long deputation to the Central Bureau of Investigation under the Government of India — approximately seven years of casework outside the state structure. It is the period that sets his standard for how a file should be built.
HQ
Senior appointments at the Gujarat State Police Headquarters in Gandhinagar, including Additional Director General of Police (Administration). Alongside the administrative brief comes the chairmanship of the VISWAS task force.
2024
Charge assumed on 16 April 2024, one day before Ram Navmi and in the middle of the general election model code of conduct. The stated brief: hold traditional policing while building capacity against cyber and financial crime.
2026
With effect from January 2026 he is elevated to the Director General grade while continuing to command the Vadodara City commissionerate. In February, the city police enter the World Book of Records.
Scroll Chapters 01–05
Milestone ledger
The same chronology set out as entries, for readers who want the dates without the prose.
1996
Joined on 27 September 1996 as a direct recruit through the UPSC civil services examination. Allotted to the Gujarat cadre.
2012
Awarded for meritorious service — the first of the two career decorations of the Indian police.
2022
Conferred for distinguished service, recognising the length and quality of the record rather than a single act.
2023
Posted to the administration portfolio at the Gujarat State Police Headquarters, Gandhinagar, while chairing the VISWAS task force.
2024
Took charge on 16 April 2024, succeeding Anupam Singh Gahlaut, IPS. The appointment coincided with the Lok Sabha election period and the Ram Navmi processions.
2025
Addressed the Government of Gujarat best-practices session at the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances conference, as chairman of the VISWAS task force and Commissioner of Police, Vadodara.
2026
Elevated to the Director General grade from January while continuing at Vadodara City. In February, Vadodara City Police received a World Book of Records certificate for the largest mass oath-taking campaign.
What the chronology shows
Read in sequence, the postings describe a shift. The early and middle years belong to investigation, where the craft is patience and documentation. The later years belong to systems — procurement, integration, command centres, and the question of what a police force should be able to see.
The Vadodara commissionerate sits at the junction of the two. It is a job that still turns on a constable at a junction, and increasingly on a server in Gandhinagar.