Bhubaneswar, May 7 : The Orissa Government on Wednesday removed city Police Commissioner Binoy Behera after Sandeep Acharya alias Raja, the prime accused in judo coach Biranchi Das murder case, allegedly claimed to have met him prior to the killing.

The removal followed a meeting between Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Home Secretary T K Mishra and Director General of Police Gopal Chandra Nanda. The Home Secretary, however, played down the transfer, which came within five months of Behera’s posting, saying it was an “administrative requirement”. “The Government has decided to transfer a few IPS officers. Binoy Behera, who is the commissioner of police (Bhubaneswar-Cuttack), is transfered and posted as the IG (Technical),” Mishra said.

Indicating that the gangster’s allegation against Behera and subsequent media reports might have influenced the Government’s decision, he said: “Sometimes the Government takes steps with an eye to requirements.”

Behera was replaced by IG (CID) B K Sharma while IG (Northern Range) Surendra Panwar was shifted to the post of IG (CID).

Incidentally, Behera is the first IPS officer in the state to have brought the existence of the highly sensitive criminal-police nexus to the fore by writing about it to the Government. Behera, during the investigation into the Biranchi Das murder case, had indicated that Raja Acharya could not be nabbed immediately because of the alleged criminal-police nexus.