Did Commissionerate Police Snub Former Odisha DGP Prakash Mishra?

Bhubaneswar: Former DGP Prakash Mishra on Thursday took to Twitter to express resentment over not being invited to 12^th Foundation Day celebration of the Commissionerate Police.

Reacting to the alleged snub by the Commissionerate Police, he wrote: “Got to know that several retired officers were invited. However, I never received any invitation. Good to see that they have evolved new traditions.”

The former top cop, who joined the BJP in March last year and unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha polls from Cuttack, shared a tumultuous relationship with the ruling BJD while in service.

The state government had refused to relieve the 1977 batch IPs officer for central deputation after Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh sought him for the post of special secretary in MHA. He was instead shunned to a relatively inconsequential post of CMD of the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC).

The Odisha government also slapped a vigilance case on him, weeks ahead of the selection of CBI chief, spoiling his chances of getting the top post, in April 2015. The Orissa High Court, however, later quashed the case against Mishra, who was then the CRPF DG.

Four months after he retired, the Odisha government in 2016 finally dropped the departmental proceedings against the IPS officer over allegations that he had regularized ad hoc services of eight peons and a watchman of a police organisation without approval of its Board of Directors.