The Odisha government has removed senior IPS officer Susanta Kumar Nath from his post as Director General (DG) of Prisons after the Commissionerate Police registered a sexual harassment case against him.
The Odisha government has removed senior IPS officer Susanta Kumar Nath from his post as Director General (DG) of Prisons after the Commissionerate Police registered a sexual harassment case against him. The 59-year-old DG-rank officer has been appointed as an officer on special duty (OSD) in the Home Department, a posting generally considered punitive.
The Cuttack Urban Police District (UPD) registered the case on Saturday against Nath, a 1993-batch IPS officer, and his alleged associate, Kuldeep Rath, following a complaint by a former woman jailer. The police have also informed the Home Department about the FIR and the allegations levelled against the officer.
According to FIR as reported in the TOI, the complainant alleged that Rath first contacted her on Nath’s behalf in July 2025. He subsequently sent her messages in August and September, inviting her to meet the senior IPS officer for dinner at two hotels in Cuttack. However, she claimed that she turned down every invitation.
“Rath conveyed Nath’s desire to meet me alone at hotels. Such conduct of Nath and Rath reflected clear sexual intent and amounted to unwelcome sexual advances,” she alleged.
The former jailer further accused Nath of targeting her after she refused the invitations, claiming that he suspended her in February 2026.
She alleged that the action against her came after she filed an FIR against former Choudwar jail superintendent Sujit Raula. According to her complaint, Raula had allegedly forged her signature and held her responsible for security lapses that resulted in the escape of two murder accused from the prison in October 2025.
Explaining the decision to remove Nath from the DG Prisons post, a Home Department official said the move was intended to ensure an unbiased investigation. “Let the police investigate and ascertain the facts,” the official said.
A police officer said investigators would question both Nath and Rath as part of the ongoing probe.
The sexual harassment case could also jeopardise Nath’s chances of becoming Odisha’s next Director General of Police (DGP), with the Supreme Court expected to deliver its verdict on the matter later this month.
Nath was among 11 senior IPS officers whose names were forwarded by the Odisha government to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in May for consideration as the successor to former DGP Y B Khurania, who retired in August.
However, the state government subsequently withdrew Nath’s name from the panel after the CBI indicated that he might need to be questioned in connection with the Sub-Inspector (SI) recruitment examination scam.
Challenging the decision, Nath approached the Supreme Court, alleging that the state government had acted arbitrarily by withdrawing his integrity certificate and excluding him from the selection process despite there being no proven allegations of wrongdoing against him.