Bhubaneswar: The Home Department has sought registration of a criminal case and a detailed investigation into the disappearance of two important judicial inquiry reports from official government records, raising concerns over the possible unauthorized removal, concealment or destruction of the documents.
In a letter addressed to the Inspector-in-Charge of Capital Police Station, Bhubaneswar, Joint Secretary to the Government Sarat Chandra Marandi requested registration of an FIR regarding the disappearance of the reports of the Justice A.S. Naidu Commission of Inquiry into the killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and others at Jaleshpeta Ashram in Kandhamal district and the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) inquiry report on the 2016 fire tragedy at SUM Hospital and Medical College in Bhubaneswar.
According to the complaint, both reports were received by the Home Department after being submitted by the respective commissions and were subsequently forwarded through the office of the Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) for consideration and necessary action.
The letter stated that the Justice A.S. Naidu Commission report, bearing file number HOME-SPL2-LAOC-0017-2016, was sent to the office of the Chief Secretary on September 16, 2016, and forwarded to the CMO on September 19, 2016. Similarly, the RDC inquiry report, bearing file number HOME-SPL2-LAOC-0008-2018, was sent to the Chief Secretary’s office on May 23, 2018, and forwarded to the CMO on May 24, 2018.
The Home Department recently learnt that the two reports are not available in the CMO and remain untraceable despite searches conducted by the concerned authorities.
The complaint further noted that several other reports and files that had been forwarded to the CMO during the same period were returned to the Home Department on June 4, 2024, the day Assembly election results indicated a change of government in the state. However, the two inquiry reports were not among the records returned and have remained missing since then.
Marandi stated that the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the reports create a reasonable suspicion that they may have been intentionally removed, retained, concealed, destroyed or otherwise unlawfully dealt with.
Describing the reports as important government records prepared by judicial and quasi-judicial inquiry bodies, the Home Department said their disappearance from official custody is a matter of serious public concern warranting a thorough investigation.
The complaint asserted that the facts disclose reasonable grounds to suspect the commission of cognizable offences related to unauthorized removal, criminal breach of trust, concealment and destruction of official records.
The Home Department has requested police to register a case, investigate the circumstances leading to the disappearance of the reports, identify those responsible and initiate action in accordance with law.
