Yadhbir Singh Dadwal took over as the police commissioner of Delhi from Dr K K Paul on Wednesday morning.

He became 16th police commissioner after the comissioner system was introduced in 1978.

Handing over of the charge was completed in the early hours of the morning to allow Dr Paul to take his seat in the Union Public Service Commission after Gurbachan Jagat, former director general of Jammu and Kashmir [Images] police, retired after five years of service.

Meanwhile, Kiran Bedi, IPS officer of 1972 batch, has gone on a protest leave against the decision of the government to appoint Dadwal as Delhi's police commissioner, ignoring her seniority.

Dadwal is junior to her by two years. She alleged that it was networking, which came in handy for Dadwal as she does not believe in attending late night parties and lobbying for herself.

Sources in the Delhi police said that with the manner in which Dadwal's taking over as the police commissioner of Delhi has been hurried through, it is more than evident that this was done to prevent any high court order from stopping the appointment should Bedi decide to knock the doors of the courts.

Interestingly, Bedi was denied promotion on a day when the country was celebrating elevation of Pratibha Patil [Images] as the first woman President of India in 60 years of Independence.

Women's organisations have sprung to the support of Bedi and have demanded that justice should be done to one of the most competant police officers of the country.

After taking over as the new commissioner of police, Dadwal claimed that he was not aware of Bedi's resentment over his appointment and added that his priority would be to streamline traffic in the capital, particularly at night and correct the manner in which Blueline buses are run on Delhi roads.