A hush settled over Police Bhawan on Monday afternoon as Odisha Police gathered to remember one of its own. Senior IPS officer Shefeen Ahamed K, Inspector General of Police (Crime Branch), died untimely, leaving the force and the state IPS Association in deep mourning.
Ahamed, a 2003-batch officer of the Odisha cadre, was 50. Born in Kerala in 1976, he had headed the Crime Branch since July 10, 2023. Colleagues described him as a capable, hardworking, and deeply committed officer whose death is an irreparable loss to both the police and society.
DGP Vinaytosh Mishra presided over the condolence meeting. Officers placed floral tributes before Ahamed’s photograph and observed a silent prayer for his soul. The IPS Association conveyed heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved family.
Mishra recalled an officer who, over a long career, held several demanding posts and added to the reputation of Odisha Police. He also shared personal memories of working with Ahamed and offered condolences to his family.
ADGP (Modernisation) and secretary of the state IPS Association, Saumendra Priyadarshi, sketched the officer’s career. After training in Sundaragada in 2005, Ahamed served as SDPO, Gunupur, and later as Superintendent of Police in Debagada, Jharsuguda, Gajapati, Berhampur and Kalahandi. He also worked in the Vigilance Directorate. His role in anti-naxal operations was described as significant.
He spent five years on deputation in Kerala as SP (Computers), Thiruvananthapuram; AIG at headquarters; DIG (Admin); and DIG (Armed Police Battalion). Officers said he helped lay the groundwork for anti-naxal work in his home state.
On return to Odisha in 2019, he served as DIG (Headquarters), Kataka; DIG, South-Western Range, Koraput; and DIG (Technical), Kataka. He later held the posts of IGP (Technical), Kataka; IGP (Fire Services and Home Guards); and IGP (HRPC), before taking charge of the Crime Branch.
Among those who paid tributes were Intelligence Director and DGP-rank officer R.P. Koche; DG (Prisons and Correctional Services) Sushant Nath; DGP (Anti-Naxal Operations and Special Intelligence) Sanjeev Panda; Director, Vigilance, Yashwant Jethwa; Special Secretary (Home) R.K. Sharma; Director, SFSL, Dr Santosh Bala; ADGP (Law and Order) Sanjay Kumar; Transport Commissioner and ADGP (Prisons) Amitabh Thakur; Police Commissioner (Bhubaneswar-Cuttack) Dr S. Devadatta Singh; ADGP (Headquarters) Prateek Mohanty; and ADGP (HRPC) Jatindra Koyal. Priyadarshi conducted the meeting.
For a force that measures itself by duty more than words, the afternoon was simple and solemn: flowers, silence, and the memory of an officer who spent more than two decades holding difficult ground — from district police stations and Naxal-affected ranges to cybercrime and the Crime Branch.
