An IPS officer from Assam has put in his papers “to pursue a life of freedom and independence” through social service.

A 2011-batch IPS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, 40-year-old Mishra is at present the SP of Lakhimpur district.

Hailing from Bihar’s Buxar district, he submitted his resignation to the state chief secretary on December 18, requesting that he be relieved of his responsibility from January 16.

Mishra is known as much for his flamboyance as he is for his crackdown on criminals and anti-socials, his rapport with the residents and “for his bike rides”.

His resignation has become the talk of officialdom here because it is very rare for any IPS or IAS officer, a much-coveted position.

Sources said his resignation was well thought out and "discussed" with seniors.

Mishra's resignation letter stated that he wanted “to pursue a life of freedom and independence that I want to realise through various social services and other means that are beyond the mandate of the IPS”.

Talking to The Telegraph on Wednesday, Mishra said: “I want to work for my place, for my society, do social service. I don’t know whether it will be through an NGO or a freelancer. It (resignation) is not a recent decision."

“Time for me to give something back to my people My people gave me so much. What I have given back to them? Now I am just doing my job but life is more than doing a job, more than being an IPS officer, more than taking care of one’s immediate family.”

He then talks about his village Prasaunda, about 25km from Buxar town.

Recently, the police officer was nominated by the state government to be part of the SIT that is probing cases in strife-torn Manipur. He was in Manipur from December 19 to 24 and has “completed” the task assigned to him as part of the SIT.