By IANS
Bhubaneswar : The Orissa government has replaced state police chief Amarananda Patnaik with Gopal Chandra Nanda, the existing state vigilance chief, an official said Thursday.
The transfer was described as “routine” and the state government issued a notification to the effect Wednesday night.
Patnaik, who went on a month-long leave from Thursday, has not been given any post, official sources said.
“The government has the right to transfer me and I don’t have anything to say,” Patnaik told IANS. “I was informed of the transfer by state Home Secretary Tushar Kanti Mishra,” he said.
Though people close to Patnaik say he has gone on leave on protest, Patnaik clarified that it was for personal reasons.
The sudden change is believe to be prompted due to the deteriorating law and order situation in the state and increasing number of crimes, political observers say. Patnaik was to retire in 2011.
The new police chief Nanda is a 1974 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. Patnaik, a 1973 batch IPS officer, had joined as the director general of police in September last year.