Odisha CM orders crime branch probe into missing Laxmanananda report
Bhubaneswar, July 27
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday ordered the Crime Branch of Odisha Police to take over the investigation into the alleged disappearance of the Justice A.S. Naidu Commission report on the murder of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and others from the Chief Minister's Office during the previous Biju Janata Dal regime.
The Chief Minister's direction comes amid an ongoing investigation by the Commissionerate Police into the disappearance of the Naidu Commission report as well as the RDC inquiry report on the SUM Hospital fire incident in 2016.
Based on a written complaint lodged by a senior official of the Home Department, Capital Police Station in Bhubaneswar registered a case (No. 460/26) under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on June 10, 2026. Earlier, the Commissionerate Police summoned four former bureaucrats, including V.K. Pandian, a close aide of BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik, to join the investigation into the missing reports.
The officials were asked to appear before the investigating officer on separate dates. Of them, only former IT Secretary Manoj Kumar Mishra has so far appeared and recorded his statement, while the remaining officials are yet to depose before the police.
Sources claimed that following the Chief Minister's directive, the Crime Branch has initiated the process of registering a fresh case to take up the investigation into the disappearance of the Justice Naidu Commission report.
Notably, Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his followers were killed in an armed attack at the Jaleshpata Ashram in Kandhamal's Tumudibandh on August 23, 2008, during Janmashtami celebrations. The incident sparked widespread communal unrest in the district, which lasted for several weeks. The violence reportedly claimed 40 lives and left 4,821 houses and 229 religious structures damaged.
The state government subsequently appointed a judicial commission to investigate the incidents. The inquiry was initially headed by retired High Court judge Justice Sarat Chandra Mohapatra and, following his death in 2012, was taken over by retired Justice A.S. Naidu, who submitted the commission's report to the government in December 2015. The report, however, has never been made public by the government.
— IANS
Reader Comments
The Kandhamal riots were a dark chapter in Odisha's history. 40 lives lost, thousands displaced, and now this report disappears? I'm glad CM Majhi is taking this seriously. But I hope the investigation is fair and doesn't become a political vendetta. The victims' families deserve closure, not more political drama.
V.K. Pandian being summoned? That's interesting! The man was Naveen Patnaik's right hand. If the report went missing from the CM's office, someone high up must know something. Let's see if the Crime Branch can crack this case. Odisha politics is getting spicy! 🍿
I'm a bit skeptical. The report was submitted in 2015, and now it's missing? Either the previous government intentionally lost it, or someone is deliberately hiding the truth. Either way, the public has a right to know what the commission found. Transparency is key, especially in cases involving communal violence.
Good move by CM Majhi, but let's not forget that this is also about the SUM Hospital fire report. Two missing reports in one go? That's either extreme negligence or a cover-up. I hope the Crime Branch doesn't get bogged down in bureaucracy. The people of Odisha deserve answers.
This is a positive step towards accountability. However, I worry that this might become a tool for political point-scoring. The focus should be on the victims of the 2008 riots and ensuring justice, not just targeting the previous regime. Let's keep
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