{{short description| EX Indian Police Service officer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}} {{Use Indian English|date=January 2019}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Loknath Behera | caption = | office = Managing Director, Kochi Metro Rail Limited<ref>{{Cite web |title=Retired top cop Loknath Behera takes charge as Kochi Metro MD |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/2021/Aug/31/retired-top-cop-loknath-behera-takes-charge-as-kochi-metro-md-2352027.html |website=The New Indian Express |date=31 August 2021 |access-date=23 November 2025}}</ref> | term_start = {{start date|2021|08|31|df=y}} | term_end = Incumbent | office1 = State Police Chief of Kerala | term_start1 = {{start date|2017|07|01|df=y}} | term_end1 = {{end date|2021|06|30|df=y}} | predecessor1 = T. P. Senkumar IPS | successor1 = Anil Kant IPS | office2 = State Police Chief of Kerala | term_start2 = {{start date|2016|06|01|df=y}} | term_end2 = {{end date|2017|05|06|df=y}} | predecessor2 = T. P. Senkumar IPS | successor2 = T. P. Senkumar IPS | office3 = Director, Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau, Kerala | term_start3 = {{start date|2017|04|01|df=y}} | term_end3 = {{end date|2018|02|15|df=y}} | predecessor3 = Jacob Thomas IPS | successor3 = N. C. Asthana IPS | office4 = Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services, Kerala | term_start4 = {{start date|2015|06|01|df=y}} | term_end4 = {{end date|2015|12|08|df=y}} | predecessor4 = T. P. Senkumar IPS | successor4 = Rishi Raj Singh IPS | office5 = Director General of Kerala Fire and Rescue Services | term_start5 = <!-- dates not provided --> | term_end5 = <!-- dates not provided --> | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1961|06|17}} | birth_place = Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India | occupation = Police officer | module = {{Infobox police officer | embed = yes | batch = 1985 | status = Retired DGP | department = Kerala Police | cadre = Indian Police Service (Kerala Cadre) | service_years = 1985–2021 | rank = Director General of Police 20px | awards = 20px President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service }} | image = Lokanath Behera.jpg }}
'''Loknath Behera''' (born 17 June 1961) is a retired Indian Police Service (I.P.S.) officer. He was state police chief and director general of police of the Kerala State Police, and is the former director of Vigilance in the state of Kerala, after T. P. Senkumar IPS was reappointed as the Kerala state police chief and director general of police following the verdict of the honorable Supreme Court of India.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2017/may/06/kerala-government-issues-order-to-reinstate-senkumar-as-dgp-1601839.html|title=Kerala Government issues order to reinstate Senkumar as DGP|work=The New Indian Express|access-date=2017-05-08}}</ref> Behera is from Odisha. He was one of the founding members of the National Investigation Agency (NIA). He was also instrumental in modernizing the Kerala police, equipping it with modern vehicles and state-of-the-art small arms and non-lethal weaponry.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/loknath-behera-retires-as-spc-today/article35042907.ece|title=Loknath Behera retires as SPC today|work=The Hindu|access-date=2021-06-30}}</ref>
He was reappointed as managing director of Kochi Metro on 28 August 2021 by the government of Kerala.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/2021/aug/31/retired-top-cop-loknath-behera-takes-charge-as-kochi-metro-md-2352027.html|title=Retired top cop Loknath Behera takes charge as Kochi Metro MD|work=The New Indian Express|access-date=2021-08-31}}</ref>
==Education== Behera holds a master's degree in geology from Utkal University.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}
==Career== Behera was appointed to the IPS in 1985 and is a part of the Kerala cadre.<ref name="Civil List">{{cite web|title=IPS Civil List.|url=http://mha1.nic.in/IPR/IPSII/civillistpdf.aspx|website=mha.nic.in|publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs|access-date=31 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320135306/http://mha1.nic.in/IPR/IPSII/civillistpdf.aspx|archive-date=20 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> He started his career as an ASP, in Kerala and also served as Commissioner of Police in Kochi and DCP in Thiruvananthapuram.
He was then appointed as SP and later DIG in the Central Bureau of Investigation. He was involved in the investigation of sensitive cases such as the Graham Staines murder case, Purulia arms drop case, Mumbai serial blast case, etc.
In 2009, Behera became one of the founding members of the NIA.<ref>{{cite web|title=Loknath Behera|url=http://securecitiesindia.com/sc2013/Speakers-Bios.aspx?id=168|website=Secure Cities 2015|publisher=Security Watch India|accessdate=31 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625012308/http://securecitiesindia.com/sc2013/Speakers-Bios.aspx?id=168|archive-date=25 June 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> At the NIA, he headed the terror financing and fake currency-specialized cell of the NIA.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jury members for the LEA awards|url=https://www.dsci.in/taxonomypage/656|website=DSCI|accessdate=31 May 2016}}</ref>
Prior to being appointed as the director general of the Kerala Police, he served as director of the Kerala Fire and Rescue Services.<ref name="Civil List" /> He was a part of the team that traveled to the United States to question David Headley in 2010.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sushilkumar Shinde rubbishes allegations of manipulating Ishrat Jahan case file|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/former-home-minister-sushilkumar-shinde-rubbishes-allegations-of-manipulating-ishrat-jahan-case-file-311795-2016-03-04|access-date=31 May 2016|publisher=India Today|date=4 March 2016}}</ref>
Behera retired from service on 30 June 2021.
==Awards== While on deputation at the NIA, Behera was awarded the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|title=2009 PMDS awardees|url=http://www.pib.nic.in/archieve/others/2009/aug/r21111012.pdf|website=Press Information Bureau|publisher=Government of India|accessdate=31 May 2016}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Behera, Loknath}} Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:Utkal University alumni Category:Indian Police Service officers Category:Indian civil servants Category:Indian government officials Category:State Police Chiefs of Kerala