Did Sonam Wangchuk’s Protests At Jantar Mantar Cost Delhi Top Cop His Job?

Why did Union Home Minister Amit Shah suddenly replace Delhi police commissioner Satish Golcha? Senior IPS officer Anurag Kumar was asked to take charge as the new Commissioner of Delhi Police on July 17. A 1994-batch IPS officer, Kumar was serving as the Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau (IB) before being entrusted with the top post in Delhi Police. Golcha was removed before his scheduled retirement in 2027. Golcha had taken over as the city police chief in August 2025. Delhi comes directly under the Union Home Ministry because it is a UT. Does his removal have anything to do with the Cockroach Janata Party’s 20-day-old sit-in at Jantar Mantar? An MHA order stated that Golcha, a 1992-batch AGMUT cadre IPS officer, will report to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi for his next posting after Anurag Kumar formally assumes charge. That means he was removed without a new posting. The new police chief Anurag Kumar is one of the senior officers with extensive experience in both policing and intelligence. Before his stint at the IB, he served as DCP in several districts of Delhi. At IB he held several important assignments related to internal security and intelligence operations. His appointment comes months after the Delhi Police underwent a major administrative reshuffle on March 3. In one of the biggest transfers in recent years, 70 officers, including 50 IPS officers and 20 DANIPS officers, were shifted to new postings with immediate effect after approval from the Lieutenant Governor. The exercise covered appointments and transfers across several senior ranks, including Special Commissioners, Joint Commissioners, Additional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs). The reshuffle impacted key wings, including district policing, crime, traffic, security, and other specialised units.