Overview
- The Home Department lodged an FIR at the Capital Police Station, filed by joint secretary Sarat Chandra Marandi, after searches found the two inquiry reports untraceable in Chief Minister’s Office records.
- The missing files named in the complaint are the Justice A.S. Naidu commission report on the 2008 Kandhamal killings and the Revenue Divisional Commissioner inquiry into the 2016 SUM Hospital fire.
- The FIR, which was registered on Wednesday, says other files returned from the CMO on June 4, 2024 were found intact while these two reports were not returned, creating suspicion of unauthorised removal or concealment.
- Odisha Police have formed a dedicated team and registered the case under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita covering criminal breach of trust, theft or destruction of official documents, and criminal conspiracy.
- The development has sharpened a political dispute with the BJP alleging deliberate suppression during the previous BJD tenure while Justice Naidu has suggested the Naidu commission report may have been misplaced rather than stolen and the probe continues.