Bhubaneswar, Sept. 1 (UDN): Senior IPS officer Jai Narayan Pankaj on Tuesday assumed charge as the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Southern Range, at the range headquarters in Brahmapur.
A formal handover ceremony was held in the presence of senior police officers and personnel, marking Pankaj’s appointment to one of Odisha Police’s key regional leadership positions.
A 2005-batch IPS officer, Pankaj thanked the Odisha government for placing its trust in him and pledged to focus on strengthening policing and enhancing coordination among law enforcement units across the Southern Range.
The Southern Range oversees policing in Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, and Boudh districts, making it a strategically significant jurisdiction for maintaining law and order in southern Odisha.
Before taking up the new assignment, Pankaj served as Inspector General of Police (Intelligence) at the Odisha Police headquarters in Bhubaneswar.
He replaces Niti Shekhar, who has been transferred and appointed as Inspector General of Police (Provisioning) at the Police Headquarters. The change comes as part of the senior IPS cadre reshuffle announced by the Odisha government on August 21, 2026.