Odisha-born IPS officer Basant Rath resigns to join politics

Srinagar/Bhubaneswar: Flamboyant Odisha-born IPS officer Basant Kumar Rath resigned from his service to join politics.

The Jammu and Kashmir-cadre IPS officer has submitted his resignation to the Jammu and Kashmir Government citing ‘his enthusiasm in politics’.

He informed about his resignation on his social media handles — Facebook and Twitter — where he termed politics a ‘noble profession’.

In his resignation letter addressed to the Chief Secretary of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the 2000-batch senior IPS officer Basant Rath, who was posted in rank of an IGP, mentioned, “I wish to resign from the Indian Police Service in order to be able to participate in electoral politics.”

“Please consider this letter as my request for resignation/voluntary retirement and process it accordingly”, the letter dated June 25 read.

The Odia IPS officer had courted controversy for ‘flamboyant’ style of delivering duties as a tough cop in Jammu and Kashmir. He was placed under suspension around two years ago.

Also Read: Flamboyant Odia IPS officer Basant Rath transferred over virtual spat!

The youth icon in the union territory is assumed to join the BJP and contest an election in Kashmir after quitting his service from Jammu and Kashmir Police.

“If I ever join a political party, it WILL be BJP. If I ever contest an election, it WILL be from Kashmir. If I ever join politics, it WILL be before March 6, 2024,” he revealed in a post on social media platforms today.