A day after he met with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Gupteshwar Pandey, the former DGP of Bihar, joined the JD(U) party on Sunday in the CM's residence. The move comes a week after he took voluntary retirement from the IPS less than half a year before he was to superannuate.
"I was called by CM himself & asked to join. Whatever the party asks me to do, I will do. I don't understand politics. I am a simple person who has spent his time working for the downtrodden section of society," he was quoted as saying by ANI.
PTI had earlier cited media reports saying he would be considered for the Valmiki Nagar Lok Sabha seat where a by-poll has been necessitated by the death of sitting JD(U) MP Baidyanath Mahto. He may also contest in his native constituency of Buxar.
He had earlier claimed to have discussed “nothing political” with CM Kumar in his meeting on Saturday, although he added that he had worked with him for long and that, after retirement, he “just wanted to thank him for his support. If and when I decide to join any political party, I will make it known to all.”
Pandey led the investigation into the death of Sushant Singh Rajput in Mumbai, clashing with the Mumbai administration on several occasions. He claimed the Maharashtra government and Mumbai police misbehaved with his police officers, opposing their mandatory quarantine on arrival in Mumbai.
He termed Sushant a son of Bihar, and joined CM Kumar in calling for a CBI probe into the actor’s death.
His frequent criticism of the Mumbai government saw Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh accuse him of speaking like a senior BJP leader. In fact, Pandey had attempted to quit the service in 2009 to contest on a BJP ticket—but his resignation was not accepted at the time.
Frequently appearing on TV channels to comment on the Sushant case, as his time in the spotlight increased, so did his own branding. He starred in a music video with former Bigg Boss contestant Deepak Thakur which dubbed him the “Robinhood of Bihar”. The video, however, was taken down following controversy over whether it was appropiate.