Bhubaneswar: The Bharatpur PS incident in which an Army Officer and his fiancée were allegedly subjected to custodial torture by some policeman, not only created a furore in the whole country but also shook up the Mohan Majhi government which carried out a massive reshuffle the IPS Officer cadre as a damage control measure,
Major Reshuffle in IPS cadre after Bharatpur PS incident
Twin City Police Commissioner Sanjeeb Panda, Crime Branch ADG Arun Bothra, Intelligence Director Soumendra Priyadarshi, Bhubaneswar DCP Prateek Singh were shunted out. Besides, the Cuttack DCP and SPs of 22 districts who were alleged to be close to the Naveen Patnaik government were transferred. Sanjeeb Panda was posted as BPSPA Director while former DGP and BPSPA Director Arung Sarangi was given the charge of OPSC Chairman for six years. The new team of DGP YB Khurania has been picked up the improve the law-and-order situation in the State as well as improve the image of the Odisha police.
S Debadutta Singh was appointed as the new Twin City Commissioner of Police, After taking charge the new Police Commissioner said police would work as per the mandate of the government and be stringent against anti-socials but humane with the denizens, Besides, CCTV installation at the police stations as directed by the Supreme Court would be a priority. Besides, Singh said that performance would be the main criteria and he would also inquire into the officers who have been posted at the same place for years.
CM Mohan Majhi Calls for People-Centric Policing Ahead of 2024 Elections
In the recent IPS Officers conference here on September 28, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi recalling the incident before the 2024 General Elections in which he was heckled and threatened by the Keonjhar Sadar police Inspector-in -Charge, when he had gone to the police station with some people who were protesting of lack of water supply, urged the police officials to be people- friendly, work 24x 7 and listen to the grievances of people even at 2 AM. The Chief Minister said infrastructure required for the police would be bolstered and 9,000 new motorcycles would be provide to police personnel. Besides, every police station would be provided with a four-wheeler to handle emergency situations. But he stressed on laying stress on complaints related to women and children.