In a significant development, senior Odisha cadre IAS officer R. Santh Gopalan (IAS:2001:OD) applied for voluntary retirement on Wednesday. The development has surprised the state bureaucracy, as it has come within a month after the Bhubaneswar DCP, Jagmohan Meena (IPS:2013:OD), resigned from the service.
He has more than one-and-a-half years of his service left, as he is scheduled to retire in June 2028.
According to reports, Gopalan, currently serving as the Chief Electoral Officer and Secretary of the Excise Department, has cited personal reasons for the VRS.
The development is significant as Gopalan continues to hold key responsibilities in the state administration. Further details regarding his voluntary retirement application are awaited.
Earlier, Bhubaneswar Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Jagmohan Meena’s resignation was accepted by the Central Government.
Sources say the state govt had accepted Meena’s resignation on August 27 and forwarded it to the Union Home Ministry for further action. The Centre has now accepted his resignation with effect from September 11, 2026.
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