Arup Patnaik

Arup Patnaik (born 8 September 1955) is a retired Indian Police Service officer who was the 36th Police Commissioner of Mumbai. He retired on 30 September 2015 after a 36-year career in the Maharashtra Police. He is a recipient of the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 2003 and the Indian Police Medal for meritorious services in 1994.

Arup Patnaik has previously served as the Chairman of Odisha's State Youth Welfare Board, the Biju Yuva Vahini and was accorded the rank and status of Minister of State by the Odisha State Government.

Patnaik joined the Biju Janata Dal in 2018. In the 2019 General Election he contested the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituency. The BJP candidate, Aparajita Sarangi, won the election.

On October 25, 2019 Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik appointed Arup Patnaik as the Convenor of the Biju Janata Dal social service wing, 'Odisha Mo Parivar.

On October 30, 2019, Arup Patnaik was inducted as a Co-Opted Member of the House Committee of the Odisha Assembly to look into aspects of Environmental Pollution in the State.

Arup Patnaik cofounded the Konark Cancer Foundation.

Early life
Patnaik was born on 8 September 1955 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. He studied up to Class 6th in Cuttack’s Pyarimohan Academy but later attended Mayo College, Ajmer, from where he passed his Indian School Certificate examination in 1971. In-School, he distinguished himself in Boxing and Football.

He is a recipient of The National Science Talent Search Scholarship awarded by the NCERT. He completed his B.Sc. (Chemistry - Hons) from Delhi University.

However, while pursuing his Post Graduate studies in Chemistry, he left halfway to join the State Bank of India as a Probationary Officer in 1976 and worked there till 1979.

Police career
Patnaik joined the I.P.S. in 1979 and was posted as probationary Asst. Supdt. of Police, Nasik from 1981 to 1982 and as Suptd. of Police Latur from 1983 to 1986. Patnaik was then transferred to Nagpur City from 1986 to 1988. After Nagpur, Patnaik was posted as Supt. of Police, Jalgaon, from 1988 to 1991. In Mumbai City, he was Deputy Commissioner of Police Zone VII from March 1991 until March 1994. He was a member of the 1993 Bomb Blast team and was also instrumental in the largest ever seizure of RDX, to the tune of 1500 kg at Mumbra in 1993. Patnaik went on deputation to the Central Bureau of Investigation in March 1994 and was assigned the critical charge of supervising investigations into the multi-crore Harshad Mehta security scam.

Patnaik held the position of Additional Commissioner of Police, South Mumbai, from 1999 to 2001.

On promotion as Inspector General of Police, he headed State Reserve Police Force (S.R.P.F.) from 2001 to 2005. He was moved back to Mumbai Police Commissionerate as Jt.Commissioner of Police, (Law & Order), a post which he held between 2005 and 2007.

In 2007, Patnaik was promoted as Addl. Director-General of Police and he held the post of Addl.Director-General of Police, (Traffic) Maharashtra State, from July 2007 to February 2011. It was during his tenure that the powers of the enforcement, which were taken away from the State Traffic Police on allegation of misuse, were restored.

From February 2011 to August 2012, Patnaik was appointed as the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai.

Patnaik was abruptly transferred from his post as Commissioner of Police in the aftermath of the Azad Maidan riots and was succeeded by Satyapal Singh.

Personal life
Arup Patnaik is married to Vidhurita, a former Senior Executive with M/s Bennett Coleman and Company Limited The Times Group and has two children, Chirantan and Tanmay.

Along with neurosurgeon B. K. Misra and cardiac surgeon Ramakanta Panda, he established the Konark Cancer Foundation for patients coming to the Tata Memorial Hospital for cancer treatment, providing them with financial and logistical support such as food, shelter, and medications.

In popular culture

 * In the 2004 action movie Aan: Men at Work, Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar essayed the role of DCP "Hari Om Patnaik" which is a combination of his father's first name (Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia) and that of Patnaik (who holds him in high regard).
 * Hussain Zaidi's 2002 book titled 'Black Friday' detailed the 1993 Mumbai bombings, an attack comprising 13 explosions that killed 250 people. Zaidi has dedicated an entire chapter on Patnaik and his handling of the situation. The book was adapted five years later into a film by Anurag Kashyap also titled Black Friday, in which Sharad Ponkshe played the role of Arup Patnaik.