Bhubaneswar: In a quick move, the Odisha government Wednesday appointed the vigilance director Dr Rajendra Prasad Sharma as the new director general of police (DGP) while shunting out K B Singh as the CMD of Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC). The crime branch director general, BK Sharma, has been posted as the DG (Prison) and Arun Roy as ADG Police Headquarter.
Interestingly, for the incumbent DGP Singh the transfer order came when he was in the thick of a meeting on anti-Maoist operation strategy at Sambalpur.
Dr. Sharma has been reportedly rewarded by the state government for his innovative idea to combat the PC culture in the state. Under his leadership, the state vigilance police has registered a record number of corruption cases in the state. An unblemished track record as senior police officer also weighed in his favour, said sources in the government.
The new DGP, who is going to take charge on Thursday, said he would try his best to serve the people of the state. Stating that the new assignment is a big challenge for him, he said he would discuss about it with the senior officials soon after taking over the charge of DGP.
An honest and silent police officer, RP Sharma was very popular when he was the commissioner of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar commissionerate police between August 2013 and 2016. During his tenure he had introduced the QAT(Quick Action Team) to solve crimes quickly and Mo Saathi mobile app to provide security to women against eve teasers. He proved to be a tough cop when he tamed dreaded criminals in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar city by allowing police to encounter hardcore criminals. He was elevated to the rank of DGP and posted as the director vigilance police in 2016.
