Mr. Vikas Kumar, a highly acclaimed IPS officer of Rajasthan cadre, is credited with uprooting the menace of illegal mining in Eastern Rajasthan region. Despite facing stiff resistance and numerous transfers in his 13 years of police service, he remained steadfast to his principles and unflinchingly delivered results. He has been instrumental in restoring peace during Gurjar-Meena agitation of 2009-10, breaking down liquor mafia activities in Sikar in 2010, restoring normalcy in Alwar district infamous for illegal mining, and fighting against communal violence, highway robberies and illicit arms trade. Currently, Mr. Kumar serves as the Superintendent of Police, Rajasthan. Honoring his honesty, courage and professional integrity in upholding human values while discharging his duties, IIT Kanpur conferred upon him the most prestigious Satyendra K. Dubey Memorial Award 2017. "You receive a lot of appreciation from public, from people and the government. But receiving an award from your alma mater matters a lot," said Mr. Kumar, while receiving the award.
Mr. Vikas Kumar received his B.Tech. in Civil Engineering from IIT Kanpur in 1997. Following it, he briefly worked as a software engineer before joining railways in 1999. In 2002, he joined the Indian Revenue Services and continued till 2004. Then began his illustrious career as an IPS officer. He served as an ASP of two sub-divisions - Dimapur, Nagaland and Sojat, Rajasthan. After a reshuffle following a communal flare-up, he was sent to Bharatpur, Rajasthan. In just nine months of his joining, he is known to have seized a record haul of opium at Chittorgarh. He was then appointed the SP of 10 districts of Rajasthan..
In 2012, he carefully planned and conducted a series of operations against the mining mafia and broke down the illicit activities that for long had been taking place in the district of Alwar. Through meticulous planning, well-thought-out strategy and a few handpicked officers, he carried out the discreet operations. "I wanted a plan that would be perfect to the last detail. This would be the best way to ensure that bravery, honesty and good intentions were not crushed tragically," said Mr. Kumar.
More recently as SP ATS, Mr. Kumar has been active in tackling more heinous crimes and criminals like arresting ISIS operatives to busting pan-India counterfeit arms license scam operating from Jammu and Kashmir to detection of army recruitment scam and arresting more than a dozen dreaded interstate criminals. Though the path has been anything but smooth for him, he continues to march ahead with nerves of steel.
