Arup Patnaik will face BJP's Sambit Patra in Puri (File Photo)
Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik is going to contest Lok Sabha elections 2024 from Odisha's Puri constituency. The former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, who joined Biju Janata Dal (BJD) after retirement, will face BJP's Sambit Patra.
Mr Patnaik, a native of Delang in the Puri parliamentary constituency, is contesting his second consecutive Lok Sabha election.
Here are five key facts about Arup Patnaik:
1. Arup Patnaik was born on September 8, 1955, to Bhuban Mohan Patnaik in Bhubaneswar. He attended Mayo College in Ajmer and completed his BSc from Delhi University in 1975. In 1976, he left his postgraduate studies in Chemistry halfway to join the State Bank of India as a Probationary Officer. He cleared the UPSC examinations in 1979 and joined IPS as a Maharashtra cadre officer.
2. His first posting was as a Assistant Superintendent of Police in Nasik. He later served as the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Latur, Nagpur City and Jalgaon. Mr Patnaik led critical investigations during the 1992-93 Mumbai communal riots and the 1993 bomb blasts. He also served with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), overseeing high-profile cases such as the Harshad Mehta scam. In Mumbai, he held key roles like Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and Additional Commissioner of Police. He served as Mumbai Police Commissioner from February 2011 to August 2012.
3. Mr Patnaik retired in September 2015 after serving as an IPS officer for 36 years. He received the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 2003 and the Indian Police Medal for Meritorious Services in 1994.
4. After nearly 3 years of retirement, Arup Patnaik joined politics. He was inducted to BJD in April 2018 by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He made his electoral debut in the 2019 general elections as a BJD candidate from Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat, but lost to BJP's Aparajita Sarangi.
5. Arup Patnaik was appointed as the Convenor of BJD's social service wing, ‘Odisha Mo Parivar', in October 2019. He was also the head of Biju Yuva Vahini, the state government's youth engagement programme, from 2018 to 2019. He enjoyed the status of a cabinet minister as the chief of Biju Yuva Vahini.