Senior IPS officer from Odisha and State Vigilance Director Debasis Panigrahi passed away at around 10.15 pm on Friday while undergoing treatment for Covid-19 complications at a private super specialty hospital in Kolkata.
Tributes poured in from all quarters of life following the early demise of the 1991 batch IPS officer.
Expressing grief over his death, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik tweeted, "Deeply saddened to know about the passing away of senior IPS officer Shri Debasis Panigrahi. He was an experienced, able police administrator and also a prolific writer. My thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved family members and friends," the CM added.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took to his Twitter handle and wrote, "Deeply saddened to learn about the demise of Senior IPS Officer and Vigilance Director Debasis Panigrahi. He held several important positions as an IPS officer and served Odisha with distinction. Offer my deepest condolences to his family in this hour of grief. ॐ शांति!," the minister added.
State Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister, Ranendra Pratap Swain said Panigrahi was an upright officer and know for his contribution to the Odia literature. The Minister also offered his prayers and condolence to the bereaved family of the IPS officer.
Rajya Sabha member from BJD, Sujeet Kumar tweeted, "Deeply pained to know about the sad demise of Odisha Vigilance Director & Eminent Writer Dr. Debasis Panigrahi. The State has lost a gem today. My deep condolences to his family members. Praying for the departed soul. Om Shanti," Kumar said.
BJP MP from Odisha, Ashwini Vaishnaw tweeted, "Shocked to hear that Dr Debasis Panigarhi IPS has passed away. Personal loss for me. True gentleman. Poet. May Mahaprabhu Jagannath give us strength to bear this irreparable loss."
Congress MLA Mohammed Moquim said, "Deeply saddened to know about the passing away of Senior IPS Officer and Odisha Vigilance Director Shri Debasis Panigrahi Ji. My condolences to his family," he added.
Odisha Police DG Abhay said Panigrahi will be remembered for his integrity, sincerity, leadership and humility.
Former DGP of Odisha, RP Sharma remembered the able officer and said Panigrahi's demise is a big loss to the people of the State, the police department and literary circles of Odisha.
Similarly, National BJP Vice-President Baijayant Panda also expressed profound grief on the passing away of the Vigilance Director.
Panigrahi was admitted to Ashwini Covid Hospital in Cuttack on May 29 after testing positive for the infection.
But as his health declined, he was put in ventilator support. Doctors recommended advanced treatment using ECMO support as he had developed serious pneumonia and was also suffering from various other co-morbidities. Following this, he was airlifted to Kolkata on June 8.
Doctors said due to the increase of Carbon dioxide level in his blood, his health condition had deteriorated four days ago. Though the doctors tried to remove Carbon dioxide from the blood through ECMO treatment, he could not be saved.
Sources said Panigrahi’s family is still in Cuttack as they were not allowed to travel with him to Kolkata in view of the Covid. Further details on how and when his body will be brought back to Odisha for the conduct of last rites are still to be revealed.
Born on August 29, 1965 in Odisha's Balasore, Debasis Panigrahi was an able administrator and a noted writer in both Odia and English language. He had done his graduation in Political Science from Ravenshaw University and post-graduation in the same subject from Utkal University. Later, he pursued his M.Phil from JNU in Delhi and later PhD from Utkal University.
He joined the Indian Police Service in 1991. During his tenure, he was appointed the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Kenjhar, Bhubaneswar, Puri, Ganjam, and Cuttack.
He had also worked as D.I.G. of Police (Administration), Special Secretary, Home Department, Government of Odisha, I.G. of Police (Modernization) and I.G. of Police, (Personnel).
Panigrahi assumed charge as the Director of Vigilance in October 2017.
Panigrahi was a creative writer and had published nine collections of short stories. He has also written seven novellas which were published in three collections and one novel in Odia language.
He has also number of popular lyrics for audio and video albums, television, and cinema. Some of his stories have been dramatized as well as translated in English, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, and Kannada. He had bagged many literary awards, the most notable amongst them was the 'Odisha Sahitya Academy Award' for short stories for the year 2002.
(Edited By Rashmi Ranjan Mohanty)