Bihar DGP who passed ‘aukat’ remark at Rhea quits, may contest polls

Bihar’s Director General of Police (DGP) Gupteshwar Pandey who courted controversy over his ‘aukaat’ comment at Rhea Chakraborty in the Sushant Singh Rajput case, took voluntary retirement from service on Tuesday (September 23), triggering speculations that he may contest the coming state Assembly polls.

Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan has accepted Pandey’s request seeking voluntary retirement.

Director General (Homeguards) SK Singhal has been given additional charge of DGP, ADG (Headquarters) Jitendra Kumar told PTI.

Pandey, a 1987 batch IPS officer, was involved in the investigation of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death by suicide in Mumbai.

He recently hit the headlines when he defended the Nitish Kumar administration when it was under attack from the Shiv Sena-led government in Maharashtra over Bihar Polices probe into the death of Sushant.

After the case was handed over to the CBI on instructions of the Supreme Court, Pandey had said that Rhea, “does not have the aukat (stature) to comment on the chief minister (Nitish Kumar).”He, however, had clarified his statement later, saying what he meant was Rhea did not have any right to criticise the chief minister, after facing flak for the statement.

It is now being speculated that Pandey may be an NDA candidate in the upcoming Assembly elections.

Bihar Assembly election is likely to be held in October-November. Pandey had taken premature retirement to contest the Lok Sabha elections in 2009, but later the state government did not accept his VRS application and reinstated him in the service.