The Odisha Police is the law enforcement agency of the Indian state of Odisha. Headquartered in Cuttack, it Police is headed by a Director General of Police and falls under the purview of the Home Department of the Government of Odisha. It has a sanctioned personnel strength of 72,145, with one-third of its sanctioned strength in the directly recruited posts of constable, sub-inspector, and deputy superintendent of police being allocated to women.
History
Along with the formation of Odisha, the "Orissa Police" was established on April 1, 1936. The department was a force comprising 4000 trained men of all ranks. The Orissa Police Manual Rules (OPMR) was unveiled in 1940 which boasted rules and regulations of the powers, functions and duties of the police department at various levels.
Department organisation
Ranges
The Odisha Police is organized into 7 Police Ranges, most of which are further divided into 32 Police Districts. The Ranges are:
- Central Range at Cuttack – Districts of Khordha, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Puri, and Nayagarh
- Eastern Range at Balasore – Districts of Balasore, Mayurbhanj, and Bhadrak
- Western Range at Rourkela – Districts of Sundargarh, Keonjhar and Rourkela
- Northern Range at Sambalpur – Districts of Sambalpur, Bargarh, Bolangir, Sonepur, and Jharsuguda
- Southern Range at Berhampur – Districts of Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Boudh, and Berhampur
- South Western Range at Koraput – Districts of Nuapada, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Malkangiri, and Kalahandi
- North Central Range at Talcher – Districts of Dhenkanal, Angul, and Deogarh
Additionally, there are:
- Bhubaneswar–Cuttack Police Commissionerate at Bhubaneswar – Controls the Capital City Bhubaneswar and Twin City Cuttack
- Railway Range at Bhubaneswar – Used for the Indian Railways, SRP at Cuttack and Rourkela
- Technical Range at Cuttack – Used for Police Transportation Services
Divisions
The Odisha Police has the following organisational divisions:
- Technical
- Training
- Investigation
Ranks
The Odisha Police maintains the following ranks:
- Director General of Police, IPS
- Additional Director General of Police, IPS
- Inspector General of Police, IPS
- Deputy Inspector General of Police, IPS
- Superintendent of Police, IPS / Deputy Commissioner of Police, IPS (Selection Grade)
- Superintendent of Police, OPS / Deputy Commissioner of Police, OPS (Junior Management Grade)
- Additional Superintendent of Police, IPS / Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, IPS
- Additional Superintendent of Police, OPS / Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, OPS
- Assistant Superintendent of Police, IPS
- Deputy Superintendent of Police, OPS / Assistant Commissioner of Police, OPS
- Inspector of Police, OP
- Sub Inspector of Police, OP
- Assistant Sub Inspector of Police, OP / Havildar Major, OP
- Head Constable / Havildar
- Lance Naik
- Constable
- Home Guard
| Insignia | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | Director General of Police | Additional Director General of Police | Inspector General of Police | Deputy Inspector General of Police | Superintendent of Police (Selection Grade) | Superintendent of Police | Additional superintendent of police | Assistant Superintendent of Police | Assistant superintendent of police (Probationary for two years) | Assistant Superintendent of Police (Probationary for one year) | ||||||||||
| Abbreviation | DGP | ADGP | IGP | DIGP | SP (SG) | SP | Addl.SP | ASP | ASP | ASP | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Special Forces
Special Operation Group
The Special Operation Group (SOG) is an elite paramilitary unit specializing in neutralizing terrorists, insurgents and extremists. The force currently, is primarily being used to counter left-wing extremism.
Special Tactical Unit
The Special Tactical Unit (STU) is a dedicated urban warfare counter-terrorist force consisting of Special Operations Group (SOG) personnel who are trained alongside the National Security Guard (NSG). The force made Odisha, third state in the country, after Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, to have a dedicated force to counter terrorism in urban areas.
District Voluntary Force
The District Voluntary Force (DVF) is a special constabulary unit specializing in anti-Maoist operations.
Odisha Special Armed Police (OSAP)
The Odisha Special Armed Police consists of 8 Odisha Special Armed Police Battalions, 6 Specialized Indian Reserved (IR) Battalions, 4 Social Security (SS) Battalions, 2 Specialized Indian Reserved (IR) Battalions and a Special Security Battalion, working under the Bhubaneswar–Cuttack Police Commissionerate.
The Orissa Military Police was formed under the Orissa Military Police Act VII (Government of Odisha) of 1946 which was formed on 1 March 1946. Till 1980, the Orissa Military Police was serving the state with its two battalions i.e. the Gurkhas and the Oriyas. After the Orissa Military Police (Amendment) Act 1980, the name “Orissa Military Police’’ was changed to “Odisha Special Armed Police (OSAP)”. There after, the department has achieved numerous remarkable feats advancing regularly with latest gadgets, arms and ammunition.
Odisha Industrial Security Force (OISF)
The Odisha Industrial security Force (OISF) is a security force which was constituted to protect public and private sector industrial undertakings in Odisha. The force was formed under the Odisha Industrial Security Force Act of the Government of Odisha in 2012.
Odisha Auxiliary Police Force (OAPF)
Government of Odisha sanctioned altogether 5600 posts of Special Police Officers (SPOs) keeping in mind of SC and ST's employment in 2008. Currently, the force has a sanctioned strength of 1521 personnel.
Odisha Police Academies


- Armed Police Training Centre, Jharsuguda
- Basic Training Institute, Burla
- Biju Patnaik State Police Academy, Bhubaneswar
- Police Training College, Angul
- Police Training Institute, Jajpur
- Police Training School, Nayagarh
- Range Level Police Training School (RPTS), Koraput
- S.O.G. Training Centre, Chandaka, Bhubaneswar
- Urban Police & Traffic Training Institute, Bhubaneswar
Weapons and equipment
Arms
Communication
Marine
- 5 Ton GRSE Series Fast Interceptor Boats (FIB)
- 12 Ton GRSE Series Fast Interceptor Boats (FIB)
- Inflatable Boats
Miscellaneous
Honours
| Awardee | Award | Decoration | Year | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pramod Kumar Satapathy (Posthumous) |
Ashoka Chakra | 2009 | Republic Day (India) | |
| Debashish Sethy (Posthumous) |
Shaurya Chakra | 2021 | Independence Day (India) | |
| Sudhir Kumar Tudu (Posthumous) |
Shaurya Chakra | 2021 | Independence Day (India) |
Awards
| Award | Category | Year | Event | Organisation Conferring |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SKOCH Award Gold | Dynamic Web Portal | 2018 | 52nd SKOCH Summit | SKOCH Group |
| Special Jury Award | Community Policing | 2018 | FICCI Smart Policing Awards | Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry |
| FICCI Smart Policing Award | Senior Citizens' Security in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack | 2016 | FICCI Smart Policing Awards | Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry |
| FICCI Smart Policing Award | Enhancing Women Safety and Security in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack | 2016 | FICCI Smart Policing Awards | Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry |
Odisha Police received award from National Crime Records Bureau for best implementation of Information Technology in the country. Odisha Police has also been felicitated for having the second best police station in the country.
DGPs of the Odisha Police
| Sl. No | Name | Batch | Rank | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mr. J.E. Pearman, CIE, IP | 25.11.1946 to 31.3.1948 | ||
| 2 | Mr. C.M. Wright Neville, IP | 01.04.1948 to 18.08.1951 | ||
| 3 | Mr. B.Roy, IP | 19.08.1951 to 26.07.1953 & 10.09.1953 to 10.10.1958 | ||
| 4 | Sri R.C.Das, IPS | 11.10.1958 to 15.03.1960 | ||
| 5 | Sri J.C. Ghosh, IP | 16.03.1960 to 28.03.1964 & 25,9.67 to 13.11.68 | ||
| 6 | Sri R.K Padhi, IP | 22.03.1967 - 24.06.1967,
14.01.1968 - 28.02.1969 & 22.03.1969 - 19.01.1974 | ||
| 7 | Shri B.B.Mishra, IP | 7.8.1969 to 22.1.1973 | ||
| 8 | Shri N.Chand, IPS | 20.1.1974 to 15.8.1974 | ||
| 9 | Shri N.Swain, IPS | 16.8.74 to 18.5.77, 21.4.80 - 28.02.82 &
1.3.82 to 31.7.83 | ||
| 10 | Shri B.K.Roy, IPS | 19.5.77 to 10.7.79 | ||
| 11 | Sri S.S. Padhi, IPS | 10.07.79 to 20.04.80, 31.07.83 to 05.04.85 & 31.08.86 to 26.08.87 | ||
| 12 | Sri B.K.Panigrahi, IPS | 5.4.85 to 31.8.86 | ||
| 13 | Shri P.C.Ratho, IPS | 26.8.87 to 18.12.89 & 3.7.91 - 30.10.92 | ||
| 14 | Shri S.Sinha, IPS | 18.12.89 to 22.5.90 | ||
| 15 | Shri D.N.Singh, IPS | 22.5.90 to 31.1.91 | ||
| 16 | Sri S.N.Mishra, IPS | 31.1.91 to 3.7.91 | ||
| 17 | Sri S.C. Mishra, IPS | 30.10.1992 to 18.01.1994 | ||
| 18 | Sri R.N. Mohapatra, IPS | 18.01.1994 to 15.11.1995 | ||
| 19 | Shri A.B.Tripathy, IPS | 16.11.95 to 31.10.97 | ||
| 20 | Dr.B.B.Panda, IPS | 31.11.97 - 5.8.99 & 12.11.99 to 10.3.2000 | ||
| 21 | Shri D.K.Mohapatra, IPS | 5.3.99 to 12.10.99 | ||
| 22 | Sri S.K. Chatterjee, IPS | 10.03.2000 to 30.04.2001 | ||
| 23 | Shri K.D. Bajpai, IPS | 30.04.2001 to 31.07.2001 | ||
| 24 | Sri N.C. Padhi, IPS | 31.7.01 to 31.7.04 | ||
| 25 | Sri B.B.Mishra, IPS | 31.7.04 to 30.6.05 | ||
| 26 | Shri Suchit Das, IPS | 30.06.2005 to 01.09.2006 | ||
| 27 | Shri Amarananda Pattanayak, IPS | 1.9.06 to 31.10.07 | ||
| 28 | Shri Gopal Chandra Nanda, IPS | 01.11.2007 to 30.09.2008 | ||
| 29 | Shri Manmohan Praharaj, IPS | 30.09.2008 to 04.07.2012 | ||
| 30 | Shri Prakash Mishra, IPS | 1977 | 06.07.2012 to 06.07.2014 | |
| 31 | Sanjiv Marik, IPS | 1981 | ||
| 32 | Kunwar Brajesh Singh, IPS | 1985 | ||
| 33 | Dr. Rajendra Prasad Sharma, IPS | 1986 | 31 Aug 2017 to 8 Aug 2019 | |
| 34 | Bijay Kumar Sharma, IPS | 1986 | ||
| 35 | Abhay, IPS | 1986 | 20-Nov-2019 to 31-Dec-2021 | |
| 36 | Sunil Kumar Bansal, IPS | 1987 | DGP | 01-Jan-2022 to 31-Dec-2023 |
| 37 | Arun Kumar Sarangi, IPS (Acting) | 1990 | DG | 01-Jan-2024 to 15-Aug-2024 |
| 38 | Y. B. Khurania, IPS | 1990 | DGP | 16-Aug-2024 to tilldate |
Controversies
Odisha Police has been accused of failure to act on intelligence reports. It has also drawn flak for delay in police recruitment process. Several senior police officers have been convicted of corruption.
