23/08/2026
Dr G.V. Sundeep Chakravarthy A Decorated IPS Officer Leading Srinagar’s Fight Against Crime,Drugs and Counter-terrorism
Srinagar: Dr G.V. Sundeep Chakravarthy, a 2014-batch Indian Police Service officer, has emerged as one of the prominent field officers of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, with extensive experience in some of the Valley’s most challenging policing environments.
Dr Sundeep Chakravarthy ips assumed charge as the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Srinagar in April 2025, bringing with him years of experience from sensitive field postings across Jammu and Kashmir.
A medical graduate from Kurnool Medical College, Chakravarthy entered the Indian Police Service in 2014. His professional journey has included several important assignments, including SSP Anantnag, SSP Kulgam, SSP Kupwara, SP Handwara, SP South City Srinagar and SDPO Sopore and Uri.
His extensive field experience has included counter-terror operations, law-and-order management, intelligence-based policing and community engagement.
*A decorated record of gallantry*
Dr Sundeep Chakravarthy ips has received multiple Police Medals for Gallantry for his role in counter-terror operations.
Official records show that he was awarded a bar to the Police Medal for Gallantry for his role in a major operation in Kulgam in October 2021. The operation involved a joint team of the J&K Police and security forces after terrorists opened fire on a joint naka party.
His repeated gallantry recognitions reflect his frontline involvement in some of the most challenging security operations conducted in the Valley.
*Zero tolerance against the drug menace*
One of the major areas of focus under Dr Chakravarthy’s leadership in Srinagar has been the fight against the growing drug menace.
Srinagar Police has intensified action against narcotic traffickers and peddlers, with the SSP stressing that the fight against drugs must go beyond street-level arrests and target the wider financial and criminal ecosystem supporting narcotics trafficking.
In April 2026, during a comprehensive crime review meeting, Dr Sundeep Chakravarthy ips directed officers to systematically identify and dismantle NDPS hotspots. He also stressed the importance of tracing both forward and backward linkages in narcotics cases and conducting financial investigations to identify illegal proceeds.
The Srinagar police chief also directed officers to identify and attach properties and freeze bank accounts linked to proceeds of crime, making financial disruption an important component of the anti-drug strategy.
During the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan in May 2026, Dr Chakravarthy said Srinagar Police had registered 101 NDPS cases and arrested 143 alleged narcotics peddlers during the preceding month. He further stated that properties worth more than ₹23 crore linked to narcotics had been attached, while action had also been initiated against illegal constructions allegedly raised with drug money and certain bank accounts had been frozen.
The Srinagar Police Chief has repeatedly emphasised that the objective is not limited to arresting individual peddlers but to dismantling the entire narcotics ecosystem, including supply chains, handlers and financial networks.
*Counter-terrorism*
Counter-terrorism has remained a significant part of Dr Chakravarthy’s professional career, particularly during his postings in sensitive districts of the Valley.
His tenure in operational assignments brought him into direct contact with some of the most difficult challenges faced by security forces, including armed encounters, intelligence-based operations and efforts to disrupt militant networks.
As SSP Kulgam, his role in the 2021 counter-terror operation documented in the Government of India Gazette highlighted the importance of coordinated operations between the J&K Police and security forces. The official account records that the operation involved a face-to-face gunfight and that the operational teams took care to protect civilians in and around the encounter site.
The officer’s counter-terror record has also been recognised through successive gallantry honours. In 2021, the Government of India listed Dr G.V. Sundeep Chakravarthy for the first bar to the Police Medal for Gallantry.
In 2023, he was again among J&K Police personnel recognised with the Police Medal for Gallantry, reflecting his continued contribution to frontline security operations.
His counter-terror approach has involved a combination of operational preparedness, intelligence inputs, coordination with other security agencies and decisive action against militant networks.
As Srinagar Police chief, this experience has become particularly relevant in maintaining security in the summer capital and responding to emerging threats in an urban environment.
*Focus on the youth*
Dr Chakravarthy has also stressed that combating drug abuse requires a wider social response.
According to his public statements during the anti-drug campaign, parents, teachers, religious leaders, educational institutions and communities all have an important role in protecting young people from narcotics.
Police-led awareness initiatives, community outreach and youth engagement have therefore been positioned alongside enforcement measures.
The approach reflects a broader understanding of the drug problem not merely as a criminal issue, but as a challenge affecting families, young people and society.
Community policing and youth engagement
Alongside enforcement, Dr Chakravarthy has placed emphasis on community-oriented policing and constructive engagement with young people.
*Under the J&K Police Civic Action Programme*
Srinagar Police has supported initiatives aimed at exposing students to opportunities beyond their immediate surroundings. Sports and youth-oriented programmes have also been promoted as avenues for channelising young energy towards education, sports and positive activities.
The emphasis is increasingly on ensuring that young people remain connected with education, sports and constructive community life rather than falling prey to drugs and criminal networks.
*From medicine to policing*
Dr Chakravarthy’s journey from medicine to the Indian Police Service is an unusual one.
After graduating in medicine from Kurnool Medical College and working as a physician, he chose public service through the civil services and joined the IPS in 2014.
Over the years, his assignments in different parts of Jammu and Kashmir have given him considerable exposure to both conventional policing and complex security challenges.
Today, as Srinagar Police chief his responsibilities extend across one of the most important urban districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
From tackling narcotics and organised crime to strengthening investigations, maintaining law and order, improving police-public relations and addressing emerging security challenges, the Srinagar police chief has a wide-ranging mandate.
A challenging responsibility in Srinagar
With his operational background and experience in sensitive districts, Dr G.V. Sundeep Chakravarthy has brought a field-oriented approach to the Srinagar police administration.
His emphasis on intelligence-led policing, financial investigations in narcotics cases, community participation and youth engagement indicates an approach that seeks to combine firm enforcement with preventive policing.
For Srinagar, where the police simultaneously face conventional crime, narcotics, organised criminal networks and security-related challenges, effective leadership at the district level remains crucial.
Dr Chakravarthy’s tenure as SSP Srinagar is therefore being closely watched, particularly for his efforts to strengthen policing and intensify the fight against the drug menace while maintaining a strong connection between the police and the community.
