The factual inquiry report about the alleged auction of a Sarpanch post for Rs 44,000 from Bileisarda village under Puintala block of Bolangir district has been submitted to the district Collector Chanchal Rana on Wednesday.
Aditional District Magistrate (ADM) Mahendra Mohapatra and Puintala Block Development Officer (BDO) submitted the report to Rana following an inquiry into the incident.
As per Rana, the detailed report about the alleged auction of a Sarpanch post will be sent to the State Election Commission soon.
“It has been reported in the inquiry that a gram sabha was arranged for the alleged auction. However, there are different opinions regarding the money transaction,” said Rana.
“Free and fair election will be conducted at Bileisarda Gram Panchayat and any eligible candidate could file nominations for the forthcoming polls,” Rana said.
However, he said that the candidature of Sushant Kumar Chhatria will be decided by the State Election Commissioner.
As per sources, the gram sabha was organised by residents of three villages- Bandanakata, Kasurpali and Bileisarda- at the village Jagannath temple on Friday where the alleged bidding for the Sarpanch post took place. Chhatria reportedly won the bid by pledging to donate Rs 44,000 for the development of the Jagannath temple.
Taking cognizance of the incident from media reports, the State Election Commission of Odisha had sought a factual report from the Collector of Bolangir.
(Edited by Rashmi Ranjan Mohanty)