Bhubaneswar, Dec 14: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had summoned senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Bishnupada Sethi on Saturday in connection with a corruption case.
According to reports, Sethi, citing grounds of his busy schedule, did not appear before the CBI.
Thus, he is likely to be grilled by the CBI sleuths today if he deposes before the Central Investigation Agency.
Sethi, who serves as the Principal Secretary of state SC/ST, social security and empowerment of persons with disabilities (SSEPD) and Odia language, literature and culture department, was issued a notice under Section 179 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita on December 10, requesting his appearance at the CBI's Bhubaneswar office on December 11. However, Sethi failed to attend the scheduled meeting.
Sethi, a 1995-batch officer, is being questioned in relation to a Rs 10 lakh bribery case involving Chanchal Mukherjee, a senior executive at Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited, a public sector undertaking based in Kolkata. The CBI registered a case against Mukherjee and three other individuals on December 7.
The investigating officer from CBI’s Anti-Corruption-II unit in New Delhi, in the notice to Sethi, stated that the officer’s knowledge of important facts and circumstances relevant to the case needed to be ascertained. Despite this, Sethi did not show up for questioning. Sources suggest that through his lawyer, the IAS officer has requested additional time for his appearance.
In connection with the investigation, the CBI also summoned three official drivers assigned to Sethi. One of the drivers, Nrusingha Charan Satpathy, appeared before the agency on December 9. Satpathy confirmed that the CBI had inquired about Sethi’s movements and the presence of CCTV cameras at his official residence. According to Satpathy, no such devices were installed outside the residence. He also explained that he had been assigned as Sethi’s official driver only two months earlier, following the officer’s appointment to the ST and SC Development Department.
Satpathy told investigators that he had dropped Sethi off at his official residence at 7:40 pm on December 7, the same day that Chanchal Mukherjee was arrested near a luxury hotel in the city. The CBI reportedly questioned Satpathy about Sethi’s daily routines and travel schedules. The driver stated that Sethi typically arrived at his office at 10 am and left by 2 pm, with a second driver (named Tushar) taking over in the afternoon. On December 7, Tushar had taken leave, so Satpathy worked a double shift, he said.
While Satpathy confirmed that the CBI had not asked about Sethi’s financial transactions, he insisted that he was merely carrying out his official duties and had done nothing wrong. The other driver, Tushar, had also been questioned by the CBI earlier.
