Major Reshuffle: Odisha Government Transfers 17 IPS Officers

In a significant move, the Odisha government has transferred and reassigned 17 IPS officers, including key appointments in the State Forensic Science Laboratory and Economic Offences Wing. Senior officers like Santosh Bala and S Praveen Kumar are among those affected. This reshuffle aims to enhance law enforcement efficiency in the state. Read on to learn more about the new assignments and their implications for Odisha's policing landscape.

By Narendra Chaudhary Aug 21, 2025, 22:47 IST

Significant Changes in Odisha's IPS Leadership

Bhubaneswar: On Thursday, the Odisha government announced the transfer and reassignment of 17 IPS officers, as per a notification from the home department.

Santosh Bala, a senior officer from the 1995 batch, has been designated as the Director of the State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL). Meanwhile, S Praveen Kumar, who is currently the IG of Central Range, will now serve as IG (Provisioning).

Gajbhiyye Satish Kumar Iswardas, also from the 2002 batch, has been appointed as IG (Special Armed Police), while Sanjay Kumar Kaushal (2003 batch) will lead the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) as IG.

Satyajit Naik, who was serving as DIG of the Eastern Range, has been reassigned to the Central Range, taking over from Praveen Kumar. Pinak Mishra, presently the SP of Puri, will assume the role of DIG for the Eastern Range.

Additionally, Avinash Kumar, an IPS officer from the 2007 batch, has been appointed to head the State Crime Records Bureau.

In the SP-level changes, Prateek Singh from the 2014 batch has been assigned as the SP of Puri, while Vivekanand Sharma continues as Khurda SP, and Parmar Smit Parshottamdas takes charge of the SP Crime Branch.

Furthermore, 13 OPS officers were also transferred and reassigned on the same day.