Bhubaneswar, Feb 18: IAS officer Bishnupada Sethi resigned from his position after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted a raid at his residence in connection with a bribery case. The 1995-batch Odisha-cadre officer submitted his resignation to the state government, citing it as a "mark of protest."
In his handwritten resignation letter to the Chief Secretary, Sethi also referenced being denied a promotion.
The officer mentioned that his batchmate, Hemant Sharma, was recently promoted to the position of Additional Chief Secretary in the state government, while he himself was overlooked.
In the two-page letter, he stated, "I do not think I will have any future in the government," referring to the ongoing CBI probe against him.
Sethi’s resignation came just hours before the CBI raided his home in connection with a ₹10-lakh bribery case involving the Bridge and Roof Company (India) Ltd, a central public sector enterprise based in Kolkata. The CBI team, consisting of eight officials, searched his residence. At the time, Sethi was serving as an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the General Administration and Public Grievance department of the Odisha Government.
In his resignation letter, Sethi claimed that the CBI team had searched multiple areas of his house, including his daughter’s study space. He emphasized that there was no FIR filed against him and that he had no involvement in the bribery case. He also expressed disappointment, stating that the raid had tarnished the reputation he had built over the years.
In his defense, Sethi pointed to his status as a member of the Scheduled Caste (SC) community, suggesting that he had faced significant challenges due to this factor.
The controversy surrounding Sethi intensified following the CBI's investigation into an alleged 'tender fixing' scheme involving Bridge and Roof Company (India) Ltd. He had been summoned by the CBI for questioning in the investigation into Aditya Dev Infratech Pvt Ltd owner Debadatta Mahapatra, who was arrested along with two others after a raid in Bhubaneswar on December 7.
Along with Mahapatra, Chanchal Mukherjee, a Group General Manager at Bridge and Roof Company (India) Ltd, and Santosh Moharana, Director of Penta A Studio Pvt Ltd, were arrested as part of the probe into a large seizure of cash and gold from a luxury car near the Mayfair Hotel in Bhubaneswar on December 7. The CBI had apprehended Mahapatra and Moharana while they were allegedly offering ₹10 lakh in cash and gold jewelry as a bribe to Mukherjee, intending to influence Bridge and Roof Company officials for a tender.
Following the CBI's investigation, the Odisha state government swiftly acted by transferring Sethi from several key positions, including Principal Secretary of the Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Department, ST & SC Development, Minorities, and Backward Classes Welfare Department, and Commissioner-Cum-Secretary in the Odia Language, Literature & Culture Department.
