The Election Commission’s (EC) action against two senior IPS officers in Odisha has triggered a political slugfest, with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) calling the action “unfortunate” and the BJP hailing it as a “historic move”.
The EC on Tuesday suspended D S Kutey who was serving as special secretary in the Odisha Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) for “unduly interfering in the conduct of elections”. Inspector General (CM Security) Ashish Kumar Singh who has been on medical leave since May 4 has been directed to be present for a “detailed examination by a special medical board” constituted by the director of AIIMS Bhubaneswar.
The action has been taken based on the state Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) report in which he made certain averments indicating “undue influence being exercised by the two senior IPS officers”. The poll panel said the comments were corroborated by “various other inputs received from the field from time to time”.
Though the poll panel did not mention the specific charges against Kutey and Singh, official sources told The Indian Express that the action was taken in the case of alleged vandalism of EVMs by BJP’s Khurda Assembly seat candidate Prasant Jagadev during the sixth phase on May 25. Jagadev was arrested the same day, with the BJP alleging that he was framed. The poll panel has ordered an “expeditious investigation” into the case.
On Thursday, Kutey reported to the Resident Commissioner’s office in New Delhi and Singh presented himself before the AIIMS Bhubaneswar medical board.
The BJD has hailed both Kutey and Singh as “outstanding officers” who played a crucial role in controlling Naxalism in the state. BJD leader and former bureaucrat V K Pandian on Wednesday alleged that the action against the two was taken as per the “designs of the BJP, which is unable to digest its imminent defeat” in the elections.
D S Kutey
Kutey and Singh are considered among the most influential senior police officers in Odisha. A 1997-batch IPS officer, Kutey is from Maharashtra and has been posted in the CMO since April 2017 where he was initially posted as officer-on-special duty (OSD) to Naveen Patnaik. He was appointed special secretary in October 2019. His appointment as OSD in the CMO was a first of its kind in Patnaik’s 17 years of rule.
Kutey closely worked with Pandian on key administrative matters, especially related to intelligence, law and order and policing when the latter was the private secretary to the CM. His work in the CMO also made him popular among BJD leaders.
As a young IPS officer, Kutey served as the Jajpur and Rourkela SP. Kutey, who has a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science, served as IG (operations) dealing with Maoists and worked as the state transport commissioner before moving to the CMO.
The BJP’s accusation that Kutey works for the BJD is nothing new. In 2018 during the Bijepur Assembly by-election, the party registered a complaint against him, Pandian, bureaucrat Sujata Karthikeyan who is Pandian’s wife, and Gopabandhu Das, an Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) officer in the CMO. In April, the BJP demanded that Kutey be transferred out of the state.
Ashish Kumar Singh
Singh has been in the BJP’s crosshairs since he served as SP of Ganjam, Naveen’s home district. In October 2017, a BJP delegation called on the then Odisha Governor SC Jamir to complain that Singh was working at the behest of the BJD. The saffron party also sought an impartial probe into all political murder cases that occurred during Singh’s tenure in Ganjam.
Despite finding himself in the middle of controversies, the IPS officer from Uttar Pradesh has a proven record as an able police officer. As Ganjam’s SP, Singh was hailed for undertaking a massive evacuation drive from coastal villages during the cyclone Phailin in October 2013.
Singh’s track record helped him to get another crucial assignment as SP of Puri during the grand Nabakalebar (sole transfer) festival of Lord Jagannath held in 2015, which drew nearly three million devotees to the temple town. The festival was conducted smoothly without any major law and order or traffic problems.
Ahead of the 2019 polls, Singh was appointed as DIG (intelligence) and placed in charge of CM’s security. He was later posted as DIG of the central range, looking after the policing in key districts. During his tenure as excise commissioner, the Odisha government issued licenses for 1,156 Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) shops and 240 country liquor shops through a lottery system, which was challenged but later upheld by the Orissa High Court.
While Singh was back as IG (central range) in May 2023, the poll panel in April removed him from the position to a non-election-related post following which he was posted as IG (CM security).
BJP’s Berhampur MP candidate Pradeep Panigrahy recently accused Singh of intimidating the BJP workers. The BJP lodged multiple written complaints against him with the EC.