Lesser known facts about now JD(U) member, former Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey

New Delhi: Gupteshwar Pandey, the former Bihar Director General of Police (DGP), who stepped down from his post on September 22, joined the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) on Sunday (September 27, 2020). The development came three days after the Election Commission of India announced the dates for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections 2020.

Pandey who is a 1987 batch IPS officer of Bihar cadre, made the news during the investigation into Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death case.  

pic.twitter.com/RyQi2MNOPw — Gupteshwar Pandey (@ips_gupteshwar) September 27, 2020

मेरे नाम से फ़ेक अकाउंट बना कर बिहार के माननीय मुख्यमंत्री के बारे में गलत टिप्पणी की जा रही है .अभी FIR कर रहा हूँ.ऐसे साइबर अपराधियों से सावधान रहें कृपया — Gupteshwar Pandey (@ips_gupteshwar) September 24, 2020

The 59-year old was also openly critical of Mumbai Police's role in the late actor's death case and had also sparked a controversy when he said during a press conference that actor Rhea Chakraborty didn’t have the "stature" to comment on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

बिहार सरकार के मुखिया श्री नीतीश कुमार ने सुशांत सिंह राजपूत से सम्बंधित केश का अनुसंधान CBI से कराने की अनुशंसा आज भारत सरकार को भेजी.उम्मीद है अब सुशांत को न्याय मिल सकेगा. pic.twitter.com/L8B7HQNzYC — Gupteshwar Pandey (@ips_gupteshwar) August 4, 2020

पटना IG ने BMC के चीफ़ को पत्र लिखकर IPSविनय तिवारी को कोरंटिन करने का विरोध करते हुए उनको मुक्त करने का अनुरोध किया था जिसको ठुकरा दिया गया है.BMC ने पत्र का जबाब भी पटना पुलिस को भेज दिया है.यानि हमारे SP विनय तिवारी अब 14 दिन तक वहीं क़ैद रहेंगे.BMCका यह फ़ैसला दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण! pic.twitter.com/ZHLfeZMGoo — Gupteshwar Pandey (@ips_gupteshwar) August 5, 2020

Some less known facts about Pandey that he has mentioned on his official website.

Pandey was born in 1961 in Gerua Bandh village of Buxar district. After completing his intermediate, he enrolled himself as a student at Patna University. 

Pandey mentioned on his official website that he cleared UPSC without any coaching or training and qualified for the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) in 1986. He then appeared for UPSC again and cracked the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1987. 

He has served as SP in some major districts of Bihar and was famous for reducing the crime rate in Begusarai, which at one time was known as the crime capital of Bihar. 

Notably, Pandey had earlier taken VRS to enter politics ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha general elections, but he failed to get a ticket. Later, he requested the Bihar government to allow him to withdraw his resignation. 

His request was accepted by CM Nitish Kumar and the top cop joined work again. Subsequently, he became Bihar's DGP just before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

In November 2015, the Bihar government had completely banned alcohol and it was reported that Pandey had travelled through all 38 districts of Bihar and campaigned for the alcohol ban. 

Meanwhile, two days after Pandey took VRS on September 22, he was seen as "Robinhood bihar ke" in a YouTube video, which has so far garnered over 21,100 views. 

Pandey who is said to be involved in over 50 encounters has verified accounts on social media. He has over 273.2K Twitter followers and has a 663.2K fan base on his Facebook page. He has reportedly hired professionals to manage his accounts on social media platforms. 

He has also started his own YouTube channel which so far has 61,340 views. 

Now, there are speculations whether Nitish Kumar will give Pandey a ticket for the Bihar Assembly election 2020, or whether Pandey will face the same fate as 2014.

The Bihar Assembly election voting will be done in three phases. The first, second and the final phase will be held on October 28, November 3 and 7 respectively and the counting of the votes will take place on November 10.