By Our Correspondent
TURA:
Anand Mishra, the IPS officer from Assam-Meghalaya cadre batch of 2011, who began his uniformed career in the Garo Hills, taking on the might of the then most powerful militant outfit Garo National Liberation Army in the jungles of East and south Garo Hills, has finally called it a day.
Mishra, who is currently serving as the Superintendent of Police of Lakhimpur district in Assam, has tendered his resignation from the Indian Police Service (IPS).
The resignation, submitted in a formal letter to the Chief Secretary of the Government of Assam, is set to take effect on January 16, 2024.
While Anand Mishra cites in his resignation letter to the Assam government, dated December 18, 2023, a desire to pursue a life of freedom and independence through various social services and personal goals, this young officer, who earned the nickname of the Bollywood hero “Singham” for taking on militants, extortionists and mafia groups alike, hasn’t been shy of his political ambitions.
When this scribe met up with him at Lakhimpur, a month ago, Mishra spoke about the day to day challenges faced by the people and the importance of good leadership.
With a large fan base in his home state of Bihar, Anand Mishra is replacing his khaki uniform for the political white kurtas that Indian politicians proudly don.
His closest aides say this young energetic officer will, with all probability, contest from one of the parliamentary seats in Bihar and could be the new young face of the BJP, if everything goes off smoothly.
While all the buzz is centred around his political ambitions taking shape, yet, few know how this gutsy officer led his men from the front in the battlegrounds of the Garo Hills forests where a cat and mouse game prevailed with the GNLA outfit that was everywhere in the region for years.
His first posting as an IPS officer was at Phulbari in West Garo Hills as the Sub-Divisional Police Officer attached to the 2nd MLP Battalion in Goeragre, Tura.
From Phulbari, Mishra joined East Garo Hills district police as the Additional SP in Williamnagar and worked under then SP Davis Nestell R Marak (IPS) between 2014-15.
His first tenure as Superintendent of Police (SP) was in the South Garo Hills district when the GNLA was at its peak of dominance triggering attacks, kidnappings and ambushes.
During his stint in Baghmara, South Garo Hills, there were multiple encounters between police and GNLA involving casualties, mainly involving cadres of the banned outfit.
His tenure in Garo Hills was not entirely without controversy as he faced complaints of manhandling a civilian in Phulbari and also assault of a student leader and a lawyer during his stint in Baghmara.
He bid adieu to Garo Hills, and Meghalaya, switching over to Assam and taking over as SP Dhubri and then Nagaon, a posting that was marred by controversy following the killing of a student leader Kirti Kamal Bora by police during a botched anti-drug operation.