Bhubaneswar: A day after appointment of Abhay as the new DGP in place of BK Sharma, Opposition BJP and Congress questioned the sudden change of guard in the State Police.
Sharma was replaced by 1986 batch IPS officer Abhay in a dramatic reshuffle effected last night just hours after a high-level panel was constituted to probe allegations of irregularities against the former.
“Hadn’t the Chief Minister checked the profile of BK Sharma when he was appointed as DGP?” asked BJP leader Bishnu Charan Sethi. Let the CM clarify to the people of Odisha as to what prompted the government to remove Sharma, he said, adding, “This move has set a bad precedent.”
Speaking to reporters, BJP MLA Jayanarayan Mishra said, “Such things are frequent in the state. The government does not have full faith on any official. Those who do not work according to the wish of the government are ousted.”
Similarly, at a presser, Congress leader Satya Prakash Nayak said, “The probe ordered against Sharma is just an eye wash. Sometimes, the government saves scalp of senior officials by misplacing probe reports and on other hand it orders probe.” He alleged that the government has “misplaced the Lokpal probe report against former police DG Sanjeev Marik on his alleged link with Bihari mafia.”
All these drama has been orchestrated to divert the attention of people on government’s failure on Smitarani Biswal’s death, paddy procurement and irregularities in KALIA scheme, Nayak stated.
Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati alleged that the government is using DGP as a toy, and removing officials and appointing them arbitrarily.
“If the government had no idea about the allegations then it is their mistake. Such arbitrary decision to dismiss DGP has become a habit of government as it thinks DGPs are like dolls and it can kick them out and welcome anyone at whim,” Bahinipati said. In her reaction, government Chief Whip and BJD leader Pramila Mallick said, “It is absolutely the discretion of the state government. When the government thinks a person is fit for the DGP post, it will take a call accordingly. No one should comment on this.”