Police stn didn’t get complaint, says Odisha CM on Raj Bhavan official’s assault

The Odisha government earlier had announced an inquiry by the Puri district magistrate into allegations that ex-guv Raghubar Das’s son assaulted an official

Published on: Feb 17, 2025, 18:08:15 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

Bhubaneswar: A former Raj Bhavan official, who accused former Odisha governor Raghubar Das’s son of assaulting and humiliating him on July 7 last year, did not file a written police complaint at the Puri district’s Sea Beach police station, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi told the Odisha assembly on Monday, adding that an online complaint received on July 12 was “under inquiry”.

The chief minister was responding to a question by Biju Janata Dal (BJP) legislator Pratap Keshari Deb on the status of a complaint filed by Baikuntha Pradhan, who was posted as assistant section officer (ASO) when he accused the former governor’s son Lalit Das, of assaulting him at Raj Bhavan in Puri on July 7 last year.

Pradhan alleged in July last year that the governor’s son Lalit Kumar and his five associates slapped, punched, and kicked him on the night of July 7 on the Raj Bhavan premises in Puri, where he was posted to supervise the preparation for President Droupadi Murmu’s visit.

“No such written complaint has been received at the Sea Beach Police Station of Puri district from an ASO regarding any physical assault and torture on 10.07.2024. One online complaint vide No. 24502038072400067 dtd 12.07.2024 filed by Shri Baikuntha Pradhan of Quarter No. 14/02, unit-9, Bhubaneswar has been received on CCTNS which is under inquiry,” Majhi told the assembly on Monday.

Following the outrage in the state over the allegations of assault in January, the state government announced that the Puri district magistrate had been ordered to investigate the incident and submit a report within 15 days. Pradhan was transferred out of Raj Bhavan within a week and transferred to the home department.

There is no word on the status of this investigation either.

In his complaint to the governor’s principal secretary at the time, Pradhan said: “On 7th July night at around 11.45 pm while I was sitting in the office room, the personal cook of Odisha governor Aakash Singh came to my office and told me that Lalit Kumar wanted to meet him at Suite No-4. When I went there, Lalit Kumar started slapping me and used abusive language. Feeling helpless, I started running out of the room and hid behind the Annexe building. However, the two PSOs of Lalit Kumar found me and dragged me to Room No. 4 through the lift. Security Personnel and others present there have witnessed this incident. They again started slapping, blowing punches on my face, kicking every part of my body and twisted my left ankle”.

Lalit Das was allegedly upset that he hadn’t been allocated a luxury vehicle in Puri.

After Raghubar Das’s five-year-term as governor was cut short in December last year and he was replaced by Hari Babu Kambhampati in Raj Bhavan, Pradhan’s wife Sayoj has tried to meet him to seek action on the case.

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

Follow India news real-time updates and the latest news covered on Hindustan Times, featuring today's critical updates on Sonam Wangchuk LIVE and more across India.