Bhubaneswar: Senior IPS officer Vinaytosh Mishra, DGP, CID, Crime Branch, will hold additional charge of Odisha’s Director General of Police after the retirement of state police chief Y B Khurania.
The temporary arrangement will come into effect from August 16, following the retirement of DGP Y B Khurania. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has officially approved the proposal to place Mishra in interim charge until further orders.
“After the retirement of current DGP Shri Y.B. Khurania on 16 August 2026, Shri Vinaytosh Mishra, DGP, CID, Crime Branch will remain in additional charge of DGP (Head of Police Force) with effect from 16 August 2026, until further order,” a statement from th eChief Minister’s Office (CMO) said.
The announcement came shortly after outgoing DGP Y B Khurania called on Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi at Loka Seva Bhawan.
A 1990-batch IPS officer, Khurania assumed charge as Odisha Police Chief on August 16, 2024. During his tenure, the police administration focused on modernizing law enforcement infrastructure, expanding rural and urban policing networks, and strengthening specialized investigation wings across the state.
Vinaytosh Mishra, a 1993-batch IPS officer, is currently Chief of the Crime Investigation Department (CID) Crime Branch. As the interim Head of Police Force, Mishra will oversee day-to-day administration and law enforcement operations across Odisha while maintaining his regular portfolio in the CID Crime Branch.
The placement of an interim police chief comes amid an ongoing selection process for a full-time successor. Under the procedure prescribed by Supreme Court guidelines in the Prakash Singh case, the state government prepares a panel of senior eligible IPS officers and submits it to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The UPSC then shortlists three candidates for final selection by the state government.
The temporary appointment of Mishra as the interim Head of Police Force comes against the backdrop of an ongoing legal challenge in the Supreme Court regarding the regular selection process.
The Supreme Court has directed the UPSC not to finalise the selection of Odisha’s next DGP until August 18, the date fixed for hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the ongoing appointment process.
