Cuttack: The Orissa High Court on Monday extended interim protection for senior IAS officer Bishnupada Sethi till May 5 in connection with an alleged bribery case involving a Government of India enterprise- Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited.
According to Sethi’s lawyer, Debasish Kumar Panda, the High Court has also extended interim protection to the IAS officer’s wife and daughter.
Notably, on December 8, Chanchal Mukherjee, Group General Manager of Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited, was arrested in Bhubaneswar while allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹10 lakh from a real estate company in exchange for promising a work order. During interrogation by the CBI, he reportedly named Bishnupada Sethi, following which Sethi came under the central agency’s scanner.
Based on the information gathered from Mukherjee, the CBI summoned Bishnupada Sethi for questioning. Later, on February 18, an eight-member CBI team conducted a raid at Sethi’s official quarters in Bhubaneswar. However, a dispute arose between the 1995-batch IAS officer and the CBI officials during the raid.
Bishnupada Sethi has claimed innocence, stating that he has no association with Chanchal Mukherjee or with Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited, nor has he ever received any favours from them. He further stated that no FIR has been registered against him.
On February 24, Sethi filed a petition in the High Court alleging that the CBI team was harassing him and his family members, which led to the court’s intervention.
