Although many big names and former ministers were dropped from the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government at the time, two retired bureaucrats got ministerial posts. Former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Arvind Kumar Sharma was on Friday sworn in as a cabinet minister while retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Asim Arun has been included in the new government as state minister (independent responsibility).
AK Sharma joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party just before the UP Assembly elections in January after retiring voluntarily and is currently the BJP’s MLC. Sharma has worked closely with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Center and is said to have a good relationship with him.
Sharma was a 1988-batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre, a resident of Kazakhurd village under Ranipur development block of Muhammadabad Gohna tehsil in Mau district of UP. Born in 1962, he is the eldest of three sons of Shiva Murti Rai and Shanti Devi. After completing his primary education in a village school, he passed the intermediate examination from DAV Inter College. After that, he completed his undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD from Allahabad University.
Asim Arun, a resident of Kanauj, had earlier taken VRS from the post of Commissioner of Police in Kanpur. Subsequently, he contested this year’s UP Assembly elections on a BJP ticket from Kanauj Sadar constituency. He defeated Samajwadi Party MLA Anil Dohre three times to win the constituency, which is considered Yadav’s base – the SP’s main vote bank.
Asim Arun is the brother of Rashmi Arun Shamir, the Chief Secretary of School Education in Madhya Pradesh. Their father Shri Ram Arun was the former Director General of Police (DGP) in UP.
Asim Arun is a 1994-batch IPS officer. In March last year, he took over as the Commissioner of Police in Kanpur. He was previously head of the state’s Counter-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and also led the UP Dial 100 emergency services.
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