Odisha DGP Race Gets Twist: How Sanjeeb Panda’s DG Elevation Changed the Top 3 Equation| Exclusive

Bhubaneswar: Three days after the UPSC’s August 7 meeting to pick Odisha’s next DGP remained inconclusive, and with incumbent DGP YB Khurania retiring on August 16, the swift pecking-order change engineered by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday – elevating two ADG-rank officers, Sanjeeb Panda and Yeshwant Kumar Jethwa, to DG rank – has injected fresh intrigue into the race for the state’s next police chief.

The move is particularly significant because the UPSC panel is yet to be finalised and the government now has a fresh DG-rank contender in Panda, whose operational profile has been gaining considerable traction. The promotion of both 1994-batch officers was approved by CM Majhi on Monday, ahead of the selection of the new DGP.

The August 7 UPSC empanelment meeting in New Delhi ended without a decision after the Odisha government reportedly apprised the panel that it was considering withdrawal of the integrity certificate of one of the DG-ranked officers in the original pool.

The state had initially sent 11 senior IPS officers to the UPSC, including DG-ranked officers Sudhansu Sarangi (1990), RP Koche (1993) and Susanta Kumar Nath (1993). The development effectively disrupted the original pecking order and forced the panel to defer its decision.

Now, in this backdrop, the elevation of Panda and Jethwa has made the buzz around Odisha’s next DGP even bigger, particularly when reports indicate that the UPSC empanelment exercise could reconvene on August 14, just two days before Khurania’s retirement.

The key question now is whether the inclusion of a newly promoted DG-ranked Sanjeeb Panda alters the three-name panel that had been taking shape before the August 7 meeting.

Odisha DGP: Top 3 contenders now – Sudhansu Sarangi, RP Koche and Sanjeeb Panda

The biggest change in the race is the emergence of Sanjeeb Panda as a much stronger contender for the final three.

The withdrawal of the integrity certificate of a DG-ranked officer has effectively taken Susanta Kumar Nath out of the immediate equation, opening space for the next eligible names in the seniority-and-merit matrix.

Odisha’s latest official gradation list places Sarangi (1990) ahead of Koche (1993), followed by Panda and Jethwa, both from the 1994 batch. Importantly, Panda is senior to Jethwa in inter-se seniority, despite both having been promoted to DG rank on Monday.

That distinction matters.

The government’s decision to elevate both 1994-batch officers means Panda is no longer merely an ADG-rank officer being considered against DG-rank candidates. He now enters the contest with the rank requirement effectively addressed.

This is significant because Sarangi, Koche and Jethwa had already figured in the broader DG-level consideration/empanelment landscape, whereas Panda’s elevation comes immediately ahead of the next DGP selection exercise. Sarangi, Koche and Jethwa, in particular, were already reported to have been empanelled for DG rank at the Centre.

Who is likely to be Odisha’s next DGP?

The Supreme Court-mandated DGP selection process requires the UPSC to prepare a panel of three eligible officers from the names forwarded by the state, following which the state government selects the DGP. Officers are assessed on seniority, service record and suitability, including their experience in core policing domains.

The often-cited 10-year core-domain criterion is important here: the relevant policing experience is assessed across an officer’s career portfolio rather than requiring 10 continuous years in one particular assignment. The key domains include law and order, intelligence, crime investigation and economic offences.

Contender	Batch	Key policing credentials	Current/Recent edge
Sudhansu Sarangi	1990	Extensive field policing; SP in major districts; Twin City Police Commissioner; later DG-level leadership in Fire Services & Civil Defence	Seniority + long policing record + DG rank
RP Koche	1993	IG Operations; extensive anti-Naxal/security experience; Director, Intelligence, Odisha	Intelligence + internal security experience + DG rank
Sanjeeb Panda	1994

Twin City Police Commissioner; SP-level field experience; ADG Crime Branch; ADG Anti-Naxal Operations & Special Intelligence Wing; exposure to EOW

Broadest recent operational portfolio + newly acquired DG rank

The official Odisha IPS gradation list confirms the relative seniority: Sarangi is a 1990-batch officer, Koche a 1993-batch officer, while Panda and Jethwa are both 1994-batch officers, with Panda placed above Jethwa in the inter-se gradation.

That makes Monday’s promotion particularly interesting. The government has not merely promoted two batchmates; it has also preserved Panda’s seniority advantage over Jethwa in the DG-rank pecking order.

Sanjeeb Panda: Why the buzz is growing louder

Panda’s biggest advantage is not simply the Monday promotion. It is the breadth and recency of his operational portfolio.

He served as Commissioner of Police, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack, taking charge in January 2024, before moving to the Biju Patnaik State Police Academy and subsequently taking charge of Anti-Naxal Operations and the Special Intelligence Wing. The official Odisha cadre record lists him as ADG, Anti-Naxal Operations from July 15, 2025.

That combination gives Panda a profile cutting across several of the domains that matter in the DGP selection process.

He has field policing experience, having served as Commissioner of the Twin City Commissionerate and as SP in districts. He has investigative credentials through his stint as ADG, Crime Branch. He has intelligence and internal-security exposure through his present anti-Naxal and Special Intelligence responsibilities. And his portfolio has also included supervision of the Economic Offences Wing.

In other words, Panda's pitch is less about one spectacular posting and more about the spread of his policing experience across the core domains.

His anti-Naxal role gives this profile another dimension. Over the past year, Odisha's counter-insurgency campaign has been a major component of the state's policing narrative, with operations steadily shrinking the Maoist footprint.

That puts Panda's recent record squarely in the category of high-stakes operational policing – something that can weigh heavily when the UPSC examines suitability beyond mere seniority.

And this is where the Monday promotion becomes strategically important.

Panda was the senior of the two 1994-batch ADGs promoted to DG rank. So, although Jethwa has a strong Vigilance and anti-corruption record, Panda now enters the DG race ahead of him in inter-se seniority while simultaneously bringing a broader operational portfolio to the table. The official gradation list places Panda immediately above Jethwa.

Why Jethwa's elevation still matters

Jethwa cannot, however, be dismissed from the larger equation.

As Director, Vigilance, he has headed one of Odisha's most sensitive enforcement establishments and brings considerable experience in anti-corruption investigations and enforcement. His elevation alongside Panda therefore expands the number of 1994-batch officers now occupying the DG rank.

But in the immediate DGP race, Panda's inter-se seniority over Jethwa and his combination of law-and-order, Crime Branch, intelligence and anti-Naxal assignments gives him a distinct comparative advantage.

This does not mean the UPSC will automatically include Panda in its panel. The final assessment remains with the empanelment committee, and the state government can choose only from the three names ultimately recommended by the UPSC.

The Sarangi factor remains formidable

Despite all the movement, Sudhansu Sarangi remains the senior-most and arguably the safest contender.

A 1990-batch officer, Sarangi sits four years senior to Panda and has a substantial policing record, including district policing and the Twin City Commissionerate. His subsequent leadership of Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards has added a strong administrative dimension to his profile.

His seniority also matters institutionally. It is not that in the UPSC process, the newest operational achievement automatically trumps everything else. Seniority, service record, suitability and integrity all enter the assessment.

Sarangi therefore remains the benchmark against which the younger contenders will be measured. His central empanelment for DG rank further strengthens his position.

RP Koche: The intelligence card

RP Koche, the 1993-batch officer currently associated with the state's intelligence apparatus, occupies the middle ground between Sarangi's seniority and Panda's recent operational profile.

His experience in operations and intelligence is particularly relevant at a time when Odisha's security environment remains a major consideration. As Director of Intelligence, Koche sits at the heart of the state's internal-security information architecture.

That makes the Sarangi-Koche-Panda combination a potentially logical three-way contest: seniority and administrative depth in Sarangi, intelligence continuity in Koche, and broad-based operational policing in Panda.

Bottomline

The race for Odisha's next DGP is no longer a straightforward pick.

The August 7 UPSC meeting ending inconclusively first disrupted the original equation. The reported withdrawal of an integrity certificate then altered the seniority field by pushing Susanta Kumar Nath out of immediate contention. And Monday's decision to elevate Sanjeeb Panda and Yeshwant Kumar Jethwa to DG rank has now added another layer to the contest.

Sudhansu Sarangi remains the frontrunner by virtue of seniority, an extensive police record and DG-level standing. RP Koche remains firmly in the reckoning because of his intelligence and security credentials. But Sanjeeb Panda's elevation to DG rank has made the contest considerably trickier.

With Khurania retiring on August 16 and the next UPSC meeting reportedly likely around August 14, the question is no longer merely who is senior enough to become DGP. It is increasingly about which of the three profiles – seniority, intelligence continuity or operational breadth – best fits the Mohan Majhi government's choice for Odisha's next police chief.

In that changed pecking order, Panda's elevation has ensured that the DGP race will be watched much more closely than it was before August 7.

Also Read: Who Will Become Next Odisha DGP? Sudhanshu Sarangi vs R.P. Koche vs Y.K. Jethwa — The Big Story Behind Odisha's Most Important IPS Race | Exclusive