Odisha Probe Widens: Former CMO Aide V.K. Pandian Summoned Over Missing Files

Bureaucratic Records Breach Triggers Police Action

Police in Bhubaneswar have officially summoned V. Karthikeya Pandian, the former private secretary to ex-Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, to address the disappearance of two sensitive government files. The Capital police station instructed the former IAS officer to present himself at the office of the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Zone-1, on July 25. Investigators directed Pandian to surrender any electronic devices, documents, or relevant materials that might assist in locating the lost records from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

Vanished Inquiry Reports and Communal Fallout

The missing documents involve high-stakes judicial investigations into two significant tragedies in Odisha's history:

• The Kandhamal Riots: The Justice A.S. Naidu Commission report regarding the 2008 assassination of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and his associates at the Jaleshpeta Ashram. This event sparked the state's most severe communal violence between Hindu and Christian communities.
• Bhubaneswar Hospital Fire: A Revenue Divisional Commission (RDC) report detailing a fatal blaze at the SUM Hospital and Medical College.

Home Department records indicate the Naidu Commission report reached the CMO on October 19, 2016. The RDC fire inquiry followed on May 24, 2018. The current administration under Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi received a progress briefing on the case from Commissioner of Police Suresh Dev Datta Singh this Wednesday.

Scrutiny of Former Top Brass

The investigation is not limited to Pandian. Authorities also sought testimony from Manoj Mishra, former IT Secretary, and Rajesh Verma, who served as Principal Secretary to the CM. While Mishra cooperated with the probe team on Tuesday, Verma did not appear for his Wednesday summons. Pandian’s involvement attracts particular attention due to his long tenure as Patnaik's primary aide before his 2023 resignation from the civil service. Although he briefly entered politics, Pandian retreated from public life following the Biju Janata Dal’s defeat by the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 elections.

Source: The Hindu — National