Bhubaneswar: On Saturday, former IT Secretary Manoj Mishra met with the Capital Police as part of the investigation into the alleged disappearance of two inquiry commission reports from the Odisha Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) during the previous tenure of the BJD government.
Mishra stated that he has fully cooperated with the investigators, providing all requested information.
After giving his statement, Mishra informed the press that the police had summoned officials linked to the CMO from the time when the reports reportedly went missing.
“The police have registered an FIR concerning the missing inquiry reports from the CMO. Since I was serving as the IT Secretary at that time, I was asked to appear before the investigating officer. I have provided all the information they wanted from me. As the matter is under investigation, I do not wish to disclose any further details to the media,” he remarked.
Inspector-in-Charge (IIC) of Capital Police Station, Radhakanta Sahoo, explained that Mishra was questioned earlier than originally scheduled due to his unavailability on July 22, the date he was initially asked to appear.
“Two individuals have been summoned in this case. Manoj Mishra appeared today as he would not be available on the scheduled date. Former IAS officer Rajesh Verma has also been summoned and will be questioned. The investigation is ongoing, and we cannot disclose further details at this stage. The inquiry is being conducted according to the established procedure, and if necessary, they may be called again,” Sahoo told reporters.
Previously, the police had requested both former IAS officer Rajesh Verma and Mishra to appear as part of their investigation into the alleged disappearance of the two inquiry reports from the CMO. They were both scheduled to meet with the investigating officer at the Capital Police Station at 11 a.m. on July 22; however, Mishra rescheduled due to prior commitments.
Verma held the position of Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister from 2017 to 2019, while Mishra, an ex-Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) officer, became Principal Secretary of the Electronics and Information Technology Department on a contractual basis in 2022 after departing from the Ministry of Railways. He managed the state government’s database and IT operations until his resignation following the change in government in June 2024.
The investigation was initiated based on a complaint filed by the Odisha Home Department on June 10, which claimed that two inquiry commission reports were missing from the CMO after the government transition.
The reports in question pertain to the Justice A.S. Naidu Commission, which examined the 2008 Kandhamal riots triggered by the murder of VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, and the Revenue Divisional Commissioner’s inquiry into a devastating fire at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar in 2016, which resulted in the loss of over 20 lives.
The complaint alleged that while several inquiry reports were transferred from the CMO to the Home Department following the new government’s assumption of office, the two specific reports were not handed over, prompting the police to register a case and commence an investigation.
