The Capital Police Station in Bhubaneswar registered a case on Wednesday regarding the suspected disappearance of several high-profile inquiry commission reports from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) during the transition of government in 2024.
These missing reports had originally been compiled and submitted during the previous Biju Janata Dal (BJD) administration.
The First Information Report (FIR) was lodged by Sarat Chandra Marandi, who serves as a Joint Secretary within the state’s Home Department.
In his complaint, Marandi alleged that two critical documents have vanished from the CMO – the Naidu Commission Report – which investigated the 2008 assassination of VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and the ensuing communal violence in Kandhamal – and the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) inquiry report concerning the tragic 2016 Sum Hospital fire.
Inspector B B Hota has been assigned to lead the investigation into the matter.
The complainant pointed out that the circumstances and timeline under which these two reports vanished raise a legitimate suspicion that the records may have been purposefully misplaced, withheld, hidden, shredded, or otherwise illegally compromised.
Given the immense significance of these findings, their sudden disappearance from state custody represents a grave matter of public interest that demands a meticulous police probe, the Home Department official emphasized.
“The facts and circumstances disclose a reasonable ground for suspecting commission of cognizable offences relating to unauthorised removal, criminal breach of trust, concealment and/or destruction of official records,” the FIR said.
Recently, the issue was flagged by Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan.
Addressing the matter, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi had previously stated that his administration would completely support a formal inquiry if the claims of missing files turned out to be accurate.
On the other hand, the opposition BJD has pushed back against the claims, accusing the current ruling government of fabricating the issue simply to misdirect the public.
