EC suspends senior IPS officer serving as special secretary in Odisha Chief Minister’s office for ‘undue interference in conduct of elections’ | India News

“The CEO Odisha vide communication dated 27.05.2024 has made certain allegations indicating that Shri DS Kutey, IPS (RR:1997), Special Secretary, Chief Minister’s Office and Shri Ashish Kumar Singh, IPS (RR:2010), IG (CM Security) are exercising undue influence over officers directly associated with conduct of election work. This has been further corroborated by various other information received from the field from time to time,” the EC said in a communication to the Chief Electoral Officer of Odisha.

The letter said the measure was taken to “curb undue influence on the electoral machinery and maintain a level playing field and fairness in the electoral process.”

While the election panel’s letter does not mention the specific charges against Kutey and Singh, considered two of the most influential IPS officers in the state, official sources said the action was taken in connection with the case of alleged vandalism of EVMs by BJP candidate for the Khurda Assembly seat, Prasant Jagadev, during the sixth phase of polling on May 25. Jagadev was arrested the same day, but the BJP claims he was framed.

Jagadev was accused of damaging EVMs at the Kuanripatna polling booth in Begunia assembly segment where he had cast his vote with his wife.

However, Aparajita Sarangi, BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Bhubaneswar and a former IAS officer, shared the alleged CCTV footage from the surveillance booth on her Facebook account on Tuesday, saying it showed that “he has not done anything that deserves a jail term”.

She also alleged that the Prime Minister’s Office was involved in the conspiracy behind Jagadev’s arrest, but suggested that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was probably unaware of the matter.

In its order, the election panel ordered a “speedy investigation” into the case pending against Jagadev.

The EC asked Kutey to report to the Resident Commissioner of Odisha in New Delhi by 3 pm on Wednesday (May 29). It also asked the Odisha CEO to submit a draft of the chargesheet to the Chief Secretary of the state for service on Kutey. “The Chief Secretary of Odisha shall cause the chargesheet to be issued by the appropriate authority in accordance with relevant service rules not later than 5 pm on May 30, 2024,” the EC directed.