BHUBANESWAR: The Crime Branch (CB) and Commissionerate Police, significant divisions of the Odisha Police, have come under intense scrutiny for their management of two notable investigations.

Recent remarks from a court regarding the textbook fraud case, alongside the chargesheet related to the murder of a GRP constable, have cast doubt on the effectiveness of these probes.

In the textbook fraud case, a special court in Cuttack granted bail to Manoj Kumar Padhy, the former Director of Teacher Education and SCERT, who is the main accused. The court highlighted that the investigative body had not provided any evidence linking Padhy to personal benefits from the alleged misconduct. The court stated, “Till date, not a single scrap of paper has been submitted by the prosecution to prove what benefit or pleasure the accused has derived.”

Furthermore, the court noted that there had been no effort to investigate any questionable financial transactions involving Padhy or his family.

Padhy faces charges including criminal negligence, conspiracy, and criminal breach of trust for allegedly approving school textbook manuscripts without ensuring their accuracy. Despite the potential for a 10-year prison sentence under certain provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the prosecution was unable to present sufficient evidence to deny him bail.

“We will review the court’s decision to understand the reasons behind granting bail to Padhy,” a CB officer stated. This case, which emerged as a significant scandal for the state government after numerous factual and typographical errors were discovered in school textbooks, led to the investigation being handed over to the Crime Branch.

“Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had taken a firm stance, promising strict measures in this case, but the CB’s inability to produce fundamental evidence to prevent Padhy’s bail is a major embarrassment,” commented an officer.