Bhubaneswar, July 11: Ashish Kumar Singh, a 2004 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer who was in the eye of storm for his alleged “active involvement” in Biju Janata Dal (BJD) politics to facilitate to help the party retain in power, was on Thursday transferred and was posted as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the home department, a notification issued in this regard mentioned.
The transfer and new posting was seen in bureaucratic circles as a punishment to the IPS officer whose “act of misconduct” was taken cognisance by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Before this order, the senior IPS was working as the IG of Police (Chief Minister’s Security). He was transferred with immediate effect, the home department notification said.
The BJP, which came power in the recently held elections, had alleged before the ECI that Singh was “misutilisining his official position” by working for the BJD.
On April 2, the ECI had 2 removed Singh from the post of Central Range Police IG and ordered him to refrain from taking part in election-related activities. However, the state government appointed him as IG (Chief Minister’s Security).
On the 5th of April, the BJP again wrote against him to the ECI alleging that Singh continued to work in favour of the BJD even after the Commission’s reprimand and changed orders.
Apparently sensing that the BJP would relentlessly chase him, Singh took a month’s medical leave just a month before the election. After the BJP made yet another complaint against the IPS officer that he was still managing the BJD affairs sitting at home, the ECI took a tough stance against him and ordered a health check-up by a team of doctors of All India Institute of Medical Science, Bhubaneswar.
The health check-up revealed that Singh was quite healthy and took medical leave by furnishing wrong information.
After getting the health check-up report, the ECI had recommended the Odisha government to take departmental action against the IPS officer.
