Election Commission suspends special secretary to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik

The Election Commission of India has placed D.S. Kutey, Special Secretary to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, under suspension, and directed Ashish Kumar Singh, Inspector General of Police (CM Security) to undergo medical examination on charges of influencing simultaneous elections in Odisha.

The two senior IPS officers were among few key bureaucrats overseeing official operation of Odisha CM. The decision has been taken on basis of information forwarded by Chief Electoral Officer, Odisha who indicated that two officers were directly exerting ‘undue’ influence on conduct of election work.

“This was further corroborated by various other inputs received from the field from time to time,” the ECI said in its order.