Bhubaneswar, August 14, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Odisha government has assigned additional charge of Director General of Police (DGP), Odisha Police, to DGP, CID, Crime Branch, Vinaytosh Mishra from August 16, following the retirement of incumbent DGP Y.B. Khurania.
Mishra will serve as the interim head of the state police force until a regular DGP is appointed. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has approved the proposal for assigning him the additional charge.
The Chief Minister’s Office said on Friday that following Khurania’s retirement on August 16, Mishra would hold additional charge as DGP (Head of Police Force) with effect from the same date and continue in the position until further orders.
The interim arrangement comes amid a legal impasse over the appointment of Odisha’s full-time police chief.
On Thursday, a Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana directed the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to defer its August 13 meeting to finalise the selection of Odisha’s next DGP.
The meeting has been deferred until the next hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), scheduled for August 18. The Supreme Court had recently agreed to hear the petition challenging the process adopted by the Odisha government for selecting the next DGP.
The petition alleges that the state’s procedure is contrary to the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in its 2006 judgment in the Prakash Singh case.
The UPSC had earlier scheduled a meeting for August 7 to consider shortlisted candidates for the Odisha DGP post. The Odisha government subsequently withdrew the names it had submitted for consideration.
With Khurania retiring on August 16 and the regular appointment process currently stalled, Mishra will oversee the state police force until further orders.
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