Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Police have issued a notice to former IAS officer V.K. Pandian, directing him to appear before investigators in connection with the alleged disappearance of two inquiry commission reports from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).
The notice, served by Capital Police in Bhubaneswar, asks Pandian to appear before the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Zone-I, at 11 am on July 25 for questioning in the ongoing investigation.
Pandian, a 2000-batch IAS officer, had served as the private secretary to former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik before opting for voluntary retirement from the civil services. He subsequently joined the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly elections but stepped away from active politics after the party’s electoral defeat.
The summons comes as the police intensify their probe into the alleged disappearance of the reports of two inquiry commissions relating to the Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati murder case and the SUM Hospital fire tragedy. According to the complaint, the reports are missing from the records of the Chief Minister’s Office.
Earlier, Capital Police had also issued notices to former IT Secretary Manoj Mishra and IAS officer Rajesh Verma in connection with the case. Mishra appeared before investigators and recorded his statement, while Verma did not appear despite being asked to do so by 11 am on Wednesday.
The investigation was initiated after an FIR was registered over the alleged disappearance of the inquiry commission reports from the CMO. Police are examining the circumstances under which the files went missing and are questioning former officials associated with the office as part of the probe.
