New DGP Appointment Race in Odisha After Y.B. Khurania’s Retirement.

Odisha is set to get a new police chief as DGP Y.B. Khurania retires on August 16, 2026. The process to pick his successor is already in its final stage.

How the selection happened
1. UPSC Empanelment Meeting - Aug 7, 2026: The UPSC committee chaired by UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar met in New Delhi. Odisha Chief Secretary Anu Garg and outgoing DGP Khurania were also present.
2. Panel of 11 sent by state: The Odisha government had submitted names of 11 senior IPS officers to UPSC.
3. UPSC shortlists 3: As per Supreme Court guidelines, UPSC prepared a panel of 3 eligible officers based on seniority, record, and experience. The state government will now choose one from these 3.

Eligibility criteria: Minimum 25 years of service + at least 6 months left before retirement.

The 11 officers in contention
DGP-ranked:
- Sudhanshu Sarangi - 1990 batch. DG, Fire Services. Ex-Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissioner.
- Susanta Kumar Nath - 1993 batch. DG, Prisons.
- R.P. Koche - 1993 batch. Director, Intelligence.

ADGPs: Sanjeeb Panda, Y.K. Jethwa (1994), Ritu Arora, Saumendra Priyadarshi, Santosh Bala, P.S. Ranpise (1995), Arun Bothra, Sunita Kakran (1996).

Frontrunners to watch
The race is largely seen as a 3-way contest:
1. Sudhanshu Sarangi - Senior-most in the list. Known for his work in cyber policing, women safety, and modernization. Holds a PhD from University of Liverpool.
2. Susanta Kumar Nath - Veteran officer currently heading Prisons. Strong administrative experience.
3. R.P. Koche - Heads Intelligence. Has deep experience in internal security and LWE areas.

All 3 satisfy the 6-month residual service rule.

What’s at stake
The new DGP will take over when Odisha Police is dealing with:
- Manpower shortage: 63 IPS vacancies out of 195 sanctioned posts
- Upcoming elections: Panchayat and Urban body polls
- Police reforms: Tech upgrade, training, and infrastructure push that Khurania started

Khurania’s tenure focused on boosting budget, recruitment, and modernization. The next DGP will be expected to continue that momentum.

The final name is likely to be announced before August 16.