Odisha CMO File Disappearance Probe Transferred to Crime Branch

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday ordered that the investigation into the disappearance of inquiry commission reports from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) during the previous Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government be handed over to the Crime Branch.

The missing files pertain to the A.S. Naidu Commission report on the 2008 murder of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati in Kandhamal district, and a Revenue Divisional Commission (RDC) inquiry into a fire at SUM Hospital in Bhubaneswar. It remains unclear whether the Crime Branch will investigate both cases.

Prior to the transfer, Odisha Police had summoned former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's close aide V. Karthikeya Pandian, former Principal Secretary to the CM Rajesh Verma, and IT Secretary Manoj Mishra for questioning. Pandian, who is currently abroad, did not appear; Verma also failed to report. Mishra, however, provided his statement to the investigating team.

The killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, a senior figure in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) affiliate, along with four others in August 2008, triggered widespread communal violence between Hindus and Christians in Kandhamal district. The violence resulted in dozens of deaths and the destruction of churches and homes, marking one of India's worst outbreaks of anti-Christian violence in recent decades.

Following the killings, the BJD, then in power in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), broke its coalition, accusing the BJP of supporting the violence. The BJP has denied these allegations. In the years since, Sangh Parivar leaders have maintained that Swami Laxmanananda had worked to counter conversions of Hindus to Christianity in the area.

The transfer of the investigation to the Crime Branch is expected to bring greater forensic and investigative resources to bear on the case. Authorities have not provided a timeline for the inquiry.