Bhubaneswar: Senior IPS officer Dayal Gangwar was on Monday transferred and posted as OSD in the Home Department, even as questions continue to swirl around the lynching of Government Railway Police (GRP) constable Soumya Ranjan Swain and allegations linking the officer to the deceased.
He was serving as Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Communication.
Gangwar, a 1998-batch IPS officer of the Odisha cadre, has served on central deputation with the CISF and held key state assignments in Modernisation, Railways & Coastal Security, and Headquarters.
This comes almost two weeks after BJD questioned the alleged connection between the Balianta mob lynching victim and an Additional DGP-rank IPS officer, claiming that Soumya was working at the senior officer’s residence and gym instead of performing official police duties. BJD leader Lekhashree Samantsinghar sought clarification from the state government on how long railway police staff had allegedly been deployed at the residences of senior officers. She also referred to allegations made by Soumya’s mother, who claimed the IPS officer owned several gyms and a large fleet of trucks. Samantsinghar questioned whether the officer was prioritizing his private business interests over his official responsibilities.
Amid these allegations, his posting to Home Department is being viewed as a punishment transfer.
