Odisha chief electoral officer Gopalan applies for voluntary retirement after SIR

Odisha chief electoral officer Gopalan applies for voluntary retirement after SIR Gopalan submitted his voluntary retirement application on Wednesday a week after the completion of the SIR in the state Chief electoral officer R Santhana Gopalan, who oversaw the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Odisha amid Opposition protests over voter deletions, has applied for voluntary retirement, citing personal and health reasons unrelated to the exercise, people aware of the matter said on Thursday.

A 2001 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Odisha cadre, Gopalan, submitted his application on Wednesday, a week after the completion of the SIR in the state. The people cited above said Gopalan, who is from Tamil Nadu and has around 18 months of service left, had been considering quitting for months. He delayed the decision until the SIR process was completed and the revised electoral roll was published, they added. The Odisha electoral roll, with 31.