Bhubaneswar: With Director General of Police (DGP) Y B Khurania set to retire on August 31, the Odisha government has initiated the process of selecting his successor.
According to sources, the state government has forwarded a panel of 11 senior IPS officers to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for consideration.
The state government had initially submitted only three names earlier this month. However, the revised list was submitted last week after the UPSC advised the government to send a wider pool of eligible officers.
The panel includes senior IPS officers from multiple batches. Among them are Sudhanshu Sarangi from the 1990 batch, Susanta Kumar Nath and R P Koche from the 1993 batch, and Sanjeeb Panda along with Yeshwant Kumar Jethwa from the 1994 batch.
The list also includes 1995 batch officers Ritu Arora, Saumendra Priyadarshi, Santosh Bala and P S Ranpise, as also Arun Bothra and Sunita Kakran from the 1996 batch.
While Sarangi, Nath and Koche hold the rank of Director General of Police, the remaining officers are serving as Additional Director Generals with more than 30 years of experience in policing and administration.
As per the existing procedure, state governments are required to send names of eligible senior officers to the UPSC, which then shortlists three candidates for the top post. The final appointment is made by the state government from this shortlist.
As sending only three names reduced the purpose of the UPSC’s screening process, the state had to forward a wider panel for smooth selection.
In 2023, the UPSC relaxed the service requirement for DGP appointments from 30 years to 25 years. The move allowed smaller states and Union territories to consider ADGP-rank officers if enough DGP-ranked officers were not available.
