CBI raids Mahima Mishra, one of Odisha’s wealthiest, in bribery case

CBI officials have been carrying out searches at the residence and offices of Mahima Mishra of Orissa Stevedores Limited (OSL), which describes itself as one of the largest corporate houses along the east coast

Published on: Aug 4, 2022, 16:17:13 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday raided the residence and office of Odisha’s leading businessman Mahima Mishra in connection with a ₹25 lakh bribe allegedly paid by a contractor to a senior official of Paradip Port Authority, people aware of the matter said.

Mahima Mishra was arrested in 2016 for the murder of an executive of Seaways Shipping and Logistics Limited (HT File)

A CBI team from Delhi carried out searches at the Paradip and Cuttack offices of Mishra’s Odisha Stevedores Limited. CBI also interrogated Saroj Das, the chief mechanical engineer of Paradip Port Authority and contractor Sumant Rout.

A person familiar with the matter said Saroj Das faces accusations of taking a bribe from the contractor and Thursday’s raids were to follow up on some leads that emerged during the initial probe.

To be sure, the details of the alleged bribery and how it links to Mahima Mishra, also known as Mahimananda Mishra and counted among Odisha’s wealthiest, are sketchy for now.

But this is not the first time that Mahima Mishra, who made his fortunes by providing labour for loading and unloading cargo – or stevedoring – at one of the busiest ports on the eastern coast, has found himself in an unseemly controversy.

Mishra, who is counted among the richest persons in Odisha, was arrested in November 2016 for conspiring to murder the executive of a Hyderbad-based logistic company. Mahendra Swain, executive of Seaways Shipping and Logistics Limited was shot dead by hired killers on the morning of October 26, while he was on his way to his office in Paradip.

He was granted bail by the Orissa high court in May 2017 but the Supreme Court in September 2018 set aside the high court order, noting that Mishra was an influential person in terms of both money and muscle power, and ordered that he should be taken into custody. Mishra was eventually granted bail in the case by the high court in November 2019.

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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