BHUBANESWAR: The state government has initiated process for empanelment of senior police officers to the post of Director General of Police (DGP) and Head of Police Force.
For the first time, the DGP will be selected from a panel of three senior-most IPS officers as recommended by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
As per the direction of the Supreme Court, the UPSC will form the panel from the list of officers belonging to four senior batches sent by the state. Finally, the government will appoint one as DGP from the panel of three officers.
The Home department has asked the State Police Headquarters to furnish the proposal with a list of 17 senior police officers of four batches from 1886 to 1989 for the empanelment committee meeting.
The proposal will include certified bio-data of 17 IPS officers, their date of appointment, length of service, residual service, present rank and level along with disciplinary and criminal proceedings, if any.
The department has also sought details of court cases, if pending against the officers, and penalties, if imposed on them.
“The State Police Headquarters has been asked to verify the bio-data of the IPS officers and furnish a certificate regarding correctness of the information along with other requisite details at the earliest following which the date of empanelment committee meeting will be finalised,” said an official of the department.
The IPS officers whose details have been sought include Abhay, Pradeep Kapur, Bijay Kumar Sharma and M Nageswar Rao from 1986 batch, Sunil Kumar Bansal, Sunil Roy and Surendra Panwar from 1987 batch, Satyajit Mohanty, MK Chhabra, M Akhaya, Santosh Kumar Upadhyay, Binayanand Jha and Arun Kumar Ray from 1988 batch and Pranabindu Acharya, AM Prasad, B Radhika and SM Narvane from 1989 batch.
Bijay Kumar Sharma, who is one among four officers of 1986 batch, is now serving as in-charge DGP after voluntary retirement of Dr RP Sharma following the later’s selection as Lokayukta member.
The SC on July 3 last year had refrained State Governments from appointing DGPs without first consulting UPSC to avoid favouritism and nepotism in such high-level appointments.