Post News Network
Rayagada, Feb 23: The Crime Branch team probing the alleged suicide of Rayagada district welfare officer (DWO) Dhaneswar Prusty has recorded statements 35 government employees, including senior officials such as assistant collector, district culture officer, sports officer, tehsildar and additional district welfare officer in the last five days.
CB deputy superintendent of police Ramesh Chandra Sethi and assistant sub-inspector SK Dalei quizzed additional collector Sayed Isaq Modina, tehsildar Nilu Mohapatra, culture officer Jagannath Rayguru, information and public relations officer Rabi Chandra Nayak and some top level officials at undisclosed locations to avoid media glare, according to official sources.
The investigators collected information from these officials about the discussion between Prusty and former collector Shashi Bhushan Padhi.
The CB team wanted to learn whether or not the former collector was abusing any official, sources claimed.
The team also collected documents relating to the utilization of funds by the welfare department and enquired whether the fund was being utilized by the DWO or former Integrated Tribal Development Agency project administrator Gorachand Gomango.
The CB team would record statements of all officials present in a meeting held February 16, sources said. The statement of sub-collector Muralidhar Swain has not been recorded yet as he has gone on ten-day leave.
The wife of the former DWO had accused the former collector and ITDA PA of harassing her husband. She had alleged that the fund sanctioned to the district welfare office was being utilized by the ITDA PA and her husband was being forced to sign on the utilization certificates. She had further alleged that Padhi had made her husband wait for one hour at his residential office and also verbally abused him.
After being humiliated by the collector, her husband had told other officials present there that he could not tolerate such behaviour and would commit suicide, his wife Kamini said.
The very next day, Prusty ended his life by hanging at the office. After the incident came to light, the government handed over the case to Crime Branch.
Several organizations , as well as political parties including the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party have been demanding the arrest both Padhi and Gomango. The state government, however, has transferred both the officials.