Bhubaneswar: Former IT Secretary Manoj Mishra on Saturday appeared before the Capital Police in connection with the investigation into the alleged disappearance of two inquiry commission reports from the Odisha Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) during the previous BJD government’s tenure.
Mishra said he had fully cooperated with the investigators and shared all the information sought from him.
Speaking to reporters after recording his statement, Mishra said the police had called officers who were associated with the CMO during the period when the reports allegedly went missing.
“The police have registered an FIR over 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 said.
Capital Police Station Inspector-in-Charge (IIC) Radhakanta Sahoo said Mishra was examined ahead of the scheduled date as he would not be available on July 22, when he had originally been asked to appear.
“Two persons have been summoned in the 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 underway and we cannot disclose further details at this stage. The inquiry is being conducted as per the prescribed procedure, and if required, they may be called again,” Sahoo told reporters.
Police had earlier summoned former IAS officer Rajesh Verma and Mishra as part of their probe into the alleged disappearance of two inquiry commission reports from the CMO. Both were asked to appear before the investigating officer at the Capital Police Station at 11 a.m. on July 22, though Mishra advanced his appearance owing to prior official commitments.
Verma served as Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister between 2017 and 2019. Mishra, a former Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) officer, was appointed Principal Secretary of the Electronics and Information Technology Department on a contractual basis in 2022 after resigning from the Ministry of Railways. He oversaw the State government’s database and IT operations before stepping down following the change of government in June 2024.
The investigation stems from a complaint lodged by the Odisha Home Department on June 10, alleging that two inquiry commission reports were missing from the CMO after the change of government.
The missing reports relate to the Justice A.S. Naidu Commission, which probed the 2008 Kandhamal riots following the killing of VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, and the Revenue Divisional Commissioner’s inquiry into the 2016 fire at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar that claimed more than 20 lives.
According to the complaint, several inquiry reports were transferred from the CMO to the Home Department after the new government assumed office. However, the two reports were allegedly not handed over, following which the police registered a case and launched an investigation.
