Bhubaneswar: Retired IPS officer Prakash Mishra was Monday appointed as advisor to Odisha Chief Minister and accorded the status of a cabinet minister, a notification by the general administration & public grievances department said.
Mishra, a 1977-batch IPS officer who retired in 2016, recently made headlines with his book, ‘Comedy in Khakee: The Humorous Memoirs of a Policeman’. In the book, he hints at a senior politician from the opposition party, a remark that has stirred controversy in Odisha.
While serving as Odisha DGP between 2012 and 2014, Mishra had developed some acrimony with the then BJD government headed by Naveen Patnaik.
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He was removed as the police chief in July 2014 and a vigilance case was slapped against him in September that year. However, the Orissa High Court quashed the charges against Mishra in June 2015. Later Mishra joined the BJP in 2019 and unsuccessfully contested from Cuttack Lok Sabha seat as a saffron party candidate.
Odisha government also appointed retired IAA officer Madhusudan Padhi as the state election commissioner. Padhi retired from government service in October 2022.
“In pursuance of clause (1) of Article 243-K of the Constitution of India, the Governor of Odisha is pleased to appoint Shri Madhusudan Padhi, IAS(Retd.) as State Election Commissioner, Odisha,” the notification by the panchayati raj & drinking water department said.
The 1991-batch officer will replace Aditya Prasad Padhi, also an IAS officer of 1983-batch appointed to the post in August 2019.
PTI
