State police chief of Kerala Loknath Behera hangs up his boots today

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: State police chief Loknath Behera will retire on Wednesday after 31 years of service in the IPS. The officer from 1985 IPS batch was posted as the police chief when the LDF government came to power in 2016.
He was posted after removing the then police chief TP Senkumar, who then fought a legal battle against his removal that lasted almost a year. Government had to reinstate him on the basis of SC order and he served as police chief from May 6 to June 30, 2017, after which he once again handed over the baton to Behera.
When Senkumar was reinstated, Behera was made the director of vigilance and anti-corruption bureau, making him the only officer to head the police, vigilance, fire and rescue services and prisons. Though he was the blue-eyed boy of the LDF government, Behera’s stint as police chief wasn’t smooth or devoid of criticism. His ways of prioritizing the end result over rules and procedures earned him many critics, even to the extent of CAG making vehement remarks against the police for fund diversion, extravagant expenses and more.
As police chief, he focused on modernization of the force using technology and state police gave thrust to use of technological tools in every aspect of policing, including investigation.
Behera has vast experience in multiple investigating agencies. He was a founder-member of NIA in 2009, where he served for five years and handled the high-profile Mumbai terrorist attack case. He was the key member of the team that interrogated David Coleman Headley, the mastermind of the attacks, in US prison.
Earlier, he served in CBI for 11 years as SP and DIG and he investigated Purulia arms drop case, IC-814 aircraft hijacking case, Madhumita Shukla murder case, Mumbai serial blasts case, Uphaar fire case, Satyendra Dubey murder case, Haren Pandya murder case among others.
A native of Berhampur in Odisha, Behera joined the service as ASP Alappuzha. He served as ACP (Kochi city), SP (Kannur), commandant of KAP-4 battalion, commissioner (Kochi city), IG (police HQ), ADGP (modernisation), DGP (prisons) and DGP (fire and rescue services). He has also received several awards, including the President’s police medals for meritorious and distinguished services. He will hand over the post to his successor at police headquarters by 4pm on Wednesday.