On the auspicious occasion of Raksha Bandhan, senior IPS officer Himansu Kumar Lal has assumed charge as Inspector General of the Special Task Force (STF) and the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), signalling a sharper offensive against organised crime in Odisha.
A 2003-batch officer, Lal earlier served as STF DIG in 2018 and as Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bhubaneswar. Until the August 21 Home Department reshuffle of six senior IPS officers, he was IG of the Northern Range in Sambalpur. He now heads EOW in Bhubaneswar with additional charge of STF — units that lead action against narcotics, economic offences, cyber fraud and organised gangs.
Taking charge, Lal said his first priority is to tighten crime control and law and order. He listed a drug-free Odisha, raids on illegal narcotics networks, zero tolerance for organised crime syndicates and gangsters, a crackdown on illegal cattle smuggling, strict watch on illegal Bangladeshi infiltration, and firm legal action against illegal mining and related irregularities.
He also put unusual stress on convictions, not just arrests. With new criminal laws and technology now available, he said, the conviction rate can be raised. “No illegal activity will be tolerated in the state. Firm action by the STF and EOW against criminals will continue,” he said.
Officials see the posting as significant because the STF already drives anti-drug operations and the state is preparing a stronger anti-narcotics push. Lal’s earlier STF stint is expected to help. EOW, which handles financial crime and cyber fraud, is also expected to gain from senior leadership.
Lal said he is already in “action mode.” Section 111 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita will be invoked against drugs and organised crime, with special focus on ensuring punishment, not only investigation.
The message from the new IG is blunt: the era of protected mafias is over, and both specialised wings will press the offensive.
