lit a candle 16h agoMy uncle rang from Guwahati this morning, still half asleep here in Melbourne, to tell me. He said Kharkwal was DGP the year he joined the force, 1990. Strange to hear a name from that far back over the phone like that.
Their story
Bhairav Dutt Kharkwal, widely known as B.D. Kharkwal, was a retired Indian Police Service officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre who rose to become Director General of Police of Assam. He died on the morning of September 17, 2026, at his residence in the Judge Farm area of Haldwani, in Uttarakhand's…
Bhairav Dutt Kharkwal, widely known as B.D. Kharkwal, was a retired Indian Police Service officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre who rose to become Director General of Police of Assam. He died on the morning of September 17, 2026, at his residence in the Judge Farm area of Haldwani, in Uttarakhand's Nainital district, after an illness. Regional reports place his age at death at about 90 to 92.
Kharkwal joined the IPS in the 1959 batch and spent decades in senior police and paramilitary roles. According to Assam press accounts including The Sentinel, he headed the Assam Police as Director General from May 1990 to March 1991. He also served as an Inspector General with the Sashastra Seema Bal and as a Deputy Inspector General in Nainital, among other postings across a long career in India's northeast and in the hills of what is now Uttarakhand.
After retirement he settled with his family in Haldwani, remaining connected to local public life. He was listed in later years as a managing committee member of the Aarohi organisation under the description of a retired IPS officer and former Assam DGP. His family includes his wife Nirmala Kharkwal, a son, and a daughter. His son Amitabh Kharkwal retired in 2024 as Director General in the Indian Postal Service.
His death drew formal tributes from both Assam and Uttarakhand police. Uttarakhand Director General of Police Deepam Seth called the loss irreparable for the police and administrative worlds. SSP Nainital T.C. Manjunath paid homage on behalf of Assam Police ranks, and Uttarakhand Police conducted the ceremonial Shok Shastra gun salute. Personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force and the Sashastra Seema Bal also paid respects. He was cremated with military honours at Rani Bagh's Chitrashila Ghat in Haldwani.
No exact date of birth has been published in the reports used for this memorial, and no medical cause beyond illness has been stated. He is remembered as a senior IPS officer who led Assam Police at a difficult moment in the region's history and who spent his later years among the community in Haldwani.
Biography adapted from Amar Ujala; Creative News Express; Hindustaan Samachaar; Samachar Shagun; The Sentinel (Assam) reporting on the death of former Assam DGP B.D. Kharkwal, September 2026..
In their own words
“An irreparable loss for the police and administrative worlds.”
Uttarakhand DGP Deepam Seth, as reported in regional coverage
