Odisha Govt Lying On Separation Of Investigation, Law And Order Wings: Congress

Bhubaneswar: The Congress party of Odisha unit on Sunday alleged that Odisha government did not comply with the Supreme Court directive to separate the investigation and Law and Order wings to lessen burden on police.

At a press meet, Congress spokesperson Nishikant Mishra alleged that the Odisha government had lied to the apex court that it had separated the investigation and Law and Order wings in the Commissionerate police jurisdiction in the twin city- Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. But, the reality is something different, he said.

Though the government submitted multiple affidavits in the Supreme Court, stating the same in 2007, 2008 and again in 2013, a RTI data, which is in the possession of the Congress party, revealed that there is no separation of investigation and Law and order wings in the Commissionerate police jurisdiction, he claimed.

Acting on a PIL, the SC had asked all the States to segregate investigation and Law and Order wings, Mishra said.

"The Odisha government had filed an affidavit in 2007 mentioning that it has separated the two wings in Commissionerate police limits in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. The government had also repeated the same thing in separate affidavits in 2008 and 2013," Mishra alleged.

The Congress leader further said that he had sought some data under RTI regarding the subject from some police stations under Commissionerate Police jurisdiction. The RTI report revealed that no such separation has been made so far in these police stations, Mishra claimed.

"It means that State government continues to lie to hide one truth. The government, especially the Home Department should come out with a clarification that why it kept the 4.5 crore Odia people in dark," he added.

The Congress party also demanded that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who holds the Home department in the State, should give clarification and issue a White Paper in this regard.