Bihar Director General of Police Gupteshwar Pandey on Tuesday announced he was voluntarily retiring from his post, the Hindustan Times reported. The Bihar governor late on Tuesday evening approved Pandey’s request and a notification for the same was issued by the home department.
Director General of Civil Defence and Fire Services Sanjiv Kumar Singhal will take up the additional charge of the director general of police till further orders.
Several media reports said that Pandey is likely to contest the upcoming Assembly elections in the state. Unidentified officials told NDTV that Pandey will probably to contest on a National Democratic Alliance ticket, either from Buxar town or any other seat in the district.
However, Pandey has formally not made any announcements about the same so far. “I have not said that I will contest polls yet,” he said on Wednesday, according to NDTV. “I haven’t joined any party. When I do I will tell all of you. Politics is not the only way of serving society.”
The former police chief added that he was being approached by several people from various districts of Bihar. “People are coming from Buxar, Jehanabad, Begusarai, many other districts...people are coming to me,” he said. “I will speak to people as to how they want my service and then take a decision.
Pandey, who was involved in the investigation into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, recently courted a controversy over his sexist remarks about actor Rhea Chakraborty, a key accused in the case.
After the Supreme Court in August held the FIR filed against Chakraborty in Patna was lawful and upheld CBI investigation in the case, Pandey had made misogynistic remarks against the actor and said she did not have the “aukat” or stature to comment on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Chakraborty had accused the Bihar government of politicising Rajput’s death. Pandey had later issued a clarification about his comment.
However, Pandey clarified that his decision to step down had nothing to do with the investigation into Rajput’s death. He once again defended his statement about Chakraborty and claimed he meant that an actor, who is an accused in the case, has no right to pass comments on a chief minister.
Pandey is a 1987 batch Indian Police Service officer. He was appointed the Bihar DGP in February last year out of 12 IPS officers recommended by the state government to the Union Public Service Commission, according to News18.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!