Bhubaneswar: Senior IPS officer Jai Narayan Pankaj on Tuesday assumed charge as the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Southern Range, Brahmapur, succeeding senior IPS officer Niti Shekhar.
Pankaj took charge during a ceremony held at the Southern Range headquarters in Brahmapur in the presence of senior police officials and staff.
A 2005-batch IPS officer, Pankaj expressed gratitude to the Odisha government for entrusting him with the responsibility and said he would work towards further strengthening policing across the Southern Range.
The Southern Range comprises Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamala and Boudh districts. Pankaj said ensuring effective policing and improving coordination among police units in the range would remain among his priorities.
Prior to his new assignment, Pankaj was serving as the Inspector General of Police, Intelligence, Odisha, Bhubaneswar.
He succeeds Niti Shekhar, who was transferred from the post and posted as Inspector General of Police (Provisioning), Police Headquarters, in a major reshuffle of the senior IPS cadre effected on August 21, 2026.
