Who is Basant Rath? Know all about suspended IPS officer as he hints at joining electoral politics in Kashmir

Suspended IPS officer Basant Rath on Sunday announced his resignation from service on social media, hinting that he is joining politics to contest elections from Kashmir.

In his famous twitter handle "KangriCarrier", which is unverified, as well as WhatsApp status and Instagram post, Rath who will be completing two years of his suspension next month, said "politics is a noble profession".

Sharing his copy of resignation letter addressed to J&K Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta and marked to Director General of Police Dilbag Singh and Commandant General Home Guard H K Lohia, Rath said "I wish to resign from the Indian Police Service in order to be able to participate in electoral politics. "Please consider this letter as my request for resignation/voluntary retirement and process it accordingly," he said in his letter dated June 25.

In an earlier post about seven hours ago, Rath wrote "If I ever join a political party, it will be BJP. If I ever contest an election, it will be from Kashmir. If I ever join politics, it will be before March 6, 2024." Repeated attempts to reach the officer did not fructify as he did not respond to the phone calls and messages.

In July 2000, Rath was suspended with immediate effect by the central government in connection with "repeated instances of gross misconduct and misbehaviour".

An order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs said, "A disciplinary proceeding against Shri Basant Rath (IPS: RR: 2000, JK) is contemplated in connection with repeated instances of gross misconduct and misbehaviour, which have been brought to the notice of the Government.

Let us know more about Basant Rath:

Basant Rath (born in 1972) is an Inspector General of Police in Jammu and Kashmir Police. He is 2000-cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

Rath was born in Uttarkashi village in Pipli, Puri district, Odisha. His father Hrushikesh was a village priest and farmer.

Since 2002, when Rath was newly appointed IPS officer in Mandi (Jammu and Kashmir)|Mandi, Poonch district, India|Poonch district, he started giving out books to students during his probation period. His initiative had grown larger and more organised in the ending of 2002.

Rath is also known as Book Baba. It is actually an initiative started by Rath. He uses social media to reach out to the aspirants of NEET and JEE exam. Rath has so far distributed several thousand books

(with agency inputs)