Inquiry commission’s report on murder of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati yet to be made public, Opposition slams govt

Opposition parties slammed the Odisha government on Wednesday for not making the inquiry commission’s report on Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati’s murder public even 15 years after the gruesome incident.

Saraswati and his four associates were killed at Jalespata Ashram in Chakapada of Kandhamal district on August 23, 2008.

Odisha government had instituted a Commission of Inquiry headed by Justice A S Naidu to probe the assassination of Saraswati. Though the Commission had submitted its report, the State government is yet to make the findings public.

Opposition parties have slammed the State government for not making the report public.

State BJP Vice-President, Suresh Pujari asked why the report has not been presented in Odisha Assembly yet. The saffron party leader also sought to know why the State government is trying to suppress the report instead of making it public as people have every right to know the findings of the investigation conducted by the commission.

“Though the report has been submitted, it is neither made public nor presented in the Assembly. No action has also been taken in this regard which is quite unfortunate,” said Pujari.

“The government might have some weakness and that is why they are afraid to make the report public. We demand to make the report public at the earliest,” said Congress leader Ajayanti Pradhan.

However, the ruling BJD refuted the allegations by the Opposition parties.

“The government has no weakness. The report is being analysed and it will be made public at the right time,” said BJD's Kandhamal District President, Saroj Karna.