The office of the additional director general (ADG) of Odisha Crime Records Bureau has issued a public notice asking woman IPS officer NB Bharathi to appear before it on October 29.
Bharathi, a 1998-batch IPS officer posted as inspector general (IG) with the State police's Human Rights Protection Cell (HRPC), has been absent from her duty since long. The State Home department had initiated disciplinary proceedings against her for not reporting to work since November 23, 2017.
Subsequently, the Home department had asked the additional DG of State Crime Records Bureau to inquire the absence of the IPS officer from office without any prior intimation.
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In the public notice, the additional DG said it scheduled various dates between May 15, 2020 and August 31, 2021 to inquire into the matter after receiving the letter from the Home department.
“All the letters sent to you at various addresses though registered post, speed post and email returned undelivered. Your absence is unnecessarily delaying the investigation. The next date of inquiry has been scheduled on October 29, 2021 at 11 am at the office of the additional DG of State Crime Records Bureau,” the notice stated.
“This notice informs you that you will be present at the appointed time on the above date, otherwise you will be deemed to have no objections and the order of the departmental action will be issued unilaterally,” it added.
It can be mentioned here that Bharathi had been absent from office since November 22, 2017 without any prior intimation or leave application. She had reportedly gone to Gajapati for an annual inspection without getting her official tour programme approved by the competent authority. As per reports, she also defied a recall notice issued by the competent authority and not reported to work since then.