Odisha govt. alleges two inquiry reports went missing from CMO during Naveen Patnaik tenure

The Bharatiya Janata Party government led by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has alleged that two judicial commission of inquiry reports had gone missing from official government records during the previous Naveen Patnaik government.

The State Home Department has sought registration of an FIR, alleging that two inquiry reports, namely the A.S. Naidu Commission report on the killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and others in Jaleshpeta Ashram in Kandhamal district, and a Revenue Divisional Commissioner-level inquiry report on the fire incident at SUM Hospital and Medical College, Bhubaneswar, remained untraceable in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

Sarat Chandra Marandi, Joint Secretary in the Home Department, filed a complaint at the Capital Police Station seeking an investigation into the disappearance of the inquiry reports.

“The two commission reports, along with several other reports and files, were duly transmitted by the Home Department to the Chief Minister’s Office through the office of the Chief Secretary in the normal course of official business for consideration and necessary action. The Naidu Commission report was sent to the CMO on October 19, 2016, while the RDC inquiry report was transmitted to the CMO on May 24, 2018,” Mr. Marandi stated.

He pointed out that “recently Home Department has learnt that the two commission reports were not available in the CMO and remain untraceable despite searches undertaken by the concerned authorities”.

“Several other reports and files which had been forwarded by the Home Department to the CMO in the normal course of official business were subsequently returned to the Home Department on June 4, 2024, the date on which counting of votes for the Odisha Legislative Assembly election was conducted and the results indicating a change in government became known,” the official said.

“However, despite the return of other files and records, the two particular commission reports were not returned from CMO and are presently untraceable. The circumstances surrounding the disappearance of these two reports, particularly when other files forwarded during the same period were returned, create a reasonable suspicion that the reports may have been intentionally removed, retained, concealed, destroyed or otherwise unlawfully dealt with,” the complaint alleged.

“The said reports constitute important government records prepared by a Judicial Commission of Inquiry and their disappearance from official custody is a matter of serious public concern requiring thorough investigation. The facts and circumstances disclose a reasonable ground for suspecting commission of cognisable offences relating to unauthorised removal, criminal breach of trust, concealment and/or destruction of official records,” the department further alleged.

The Home Department sought an investigation to ascertain the circumstances leading to the disappearance of the reports, identify the persons responsible and take action in accordance with law.

The killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and several others in 2008 had triggered large-scale communal violence between Hindus and Christians in Kandhamal district. It remains one of the most significant incidents of anti-Christian violence recorded in the State. Laxmanananda Saraswati was a prominent leader associated with the Sangh Parivar and was known for his campaign against what he described as religious conversions in Kandhamal.

Until 2008, the BJP and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) were coalition partners in the State government. The BJD later severed ties with the BJP, accusing it of pursuing a communal agenda. In the 2009 elections, the two parties contested separately.

Similarly, the fire incident at SUM Hospital and Medical College, Bhubaneswar, had put the then Naveen Patnaik government under scrutiny. Following extensive media coverage of the incident, then Health Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak resigned from the Ministry.