Bihar police chief Gupteshwar Pandey steps down from service

Pandey had earlier taken premature retirement to contest the Lok Sabha elections in 2009. A 1987 batch IPS officer of Bihar cadre, he reportedly wished to contest from the Buxar Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket in 2009.

Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey took voluntary retirement from service on Tuesday evening. September 22 was the last working day for the 1987-batch IPS officer. The Bihar Governor late on Tuesday evening approved the request of Pandey seeking VRS from services. A notification in this regard was also issued by the home department.

Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey took voluntary retirement from service on Tuesday evening. He has also been active in leading the alcohol ban campaign by the Bihar government.(TWITTER/@IPSGupteshwar.)

Pandey in all probability will contest assembly polls. He was due to retire in February next year.

Following the VRS of DGP, Director general of Homeguard and Fire services, Sanjiv Kumar Singhal has been given additional charge of the DGP .

Gupteshwar Pandey has been in the news recently. He has made it to the headlines and is a talking point on social media in connection with the Sushant Singh Rajput case.

Pandey had earlier taken premature retirement to contest Lok Sabha elections in 2009.

Gupteshwar Pandey, a 1987 batch IPS officer of Bihar cadre, reportedly wished to contest from the Buxar Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket in 2009.

With the intention of contesting the Lok Sabha polls, the now Bihar DGP opted for voluntary retirement scheme in March, 2009. His dream to plunge into electoral politics, however, did not materialize.

Nine months after his VRS, Pandey requested the Bihar government to allow him to withdraw his resignation.

The Nitish Kumar-led government approved Pandey’s plea and the high-profile cop reported back to work. He went on to become the DGP of Bihar Police before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

He was born in 1961 in Geruabandh village in Buxar district of Bihar. Pandey graduated from Patna University in Sanskrit and even took his UPSC exam in Sanskrit. He cleared the UPSC in his first attempt and went on to become an Income Tax officer. In his second attempt, he cleared the IPS.

Pandey served as the SP of several Naxal-affected districts like Aurangabad, Jehanabad, Arwal, Begusarai and Nalanda, besides being DIG of Munger and Muzaffarpur zone. Later, he became the IG of Muzaffarpur Zone and was DG of Bihar Police (training) before he went on to become the DGP.

He has also been active in leading the alcohol ban campaign by the Bihar government.