Bhubaneswar, May 18
Orissa’s inspector-general of police (IGP) Sanjeev Marik was today suspended for alleged links with criminals from Bihar in the first such disciplinary action against any top officer of the state.

The decision to suspend Marik, a 1981 batch IPS officer, was taken after home secretary Tarun Kanti Mishra and director-general of police (DGP) Amarananda Pattanayak met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the state secretariat.

“I have passed orders to start departmental disciplinary proceedings. He has been suspended from service today,” Patnaik told mediapersons later.

The Chief Minister declined to comment on the charges against the police officer. But police sources said one of the charges was that Marik had helped four persons from Bihar who wanted to meet their relatives in the Bhadrak jail.

The suspension came after the government asked the DGP to inquire and submit a report within seven days.

Pattanayak had also visited the jail at Bhadrak to interrogate persons arrested in connection with the IGP’s alleged links with criminals and submitted his report to the government last night.

Pattanayak had also interrogated Marik on Wednesday during which he reportedly admitted to some of the charges levelled against him.

Marik had come into the spotlight after a robbery at Bhadrak in February. The robbers opened fire killing two persons while looting over Rs 20 lakh from two bank employees.

In investigations that followed it came to light that some of the criminals had contact with the IPS officer. — PTI