Odisha cop suspended for embezzling ₹20 lakh seized during a hotel raid

DGP Sunil Bansal suspended Kantabanji sub-divisional police officer Hrusikesh Meher around a month after the underreported seizure of cash during the raid

Published on: Oct 11, 2022, 14:35:30 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Odisha police on Monday evening suspended a senior police officer in a western Odisha town for allegedly embezzling nearly ₹20 lakh during a hotel raid last month.

Image for representational purposes only.

DGP Sunil Bansal suspended Kantabanji sub-divisional police officer Hrusikesh Meher around a month after the underreported seizure of cash during the raid by portraying a group of brick kiln contractors as gamblers.

Incidentally, Meher was about to join the state’s anti-corruption department as deputy superintendent of police at the time when he was caught in the soup. His posting has been cancelled.

On September 15 midnight, Meher along with a police team raided Shree Annapurna Lodge in Kantabanjhi town of Bolangir district, which is infamous for sending trainloads of migrant workers to various states. Seven people from Telangana were arrested during the raid.

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Though the arrested persons had come with ₹80 lakh to contract migrant workers for jobs at brick kilns of Telangana, Meher alleged that they were gamblers and claimed to have seized ₹58.52 lakh from their possession.

Following allegations, Bolangir superintendent of police Kusalkar Nitin Dagudu conducted a probe and found ₹20 lakh from some bags kept in Kantabanji police station. Two of Meher’s friends, along with three middlemen, have also been questioned.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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