Puri: The Odisha Lokayukta has served notice on state Health and Family Welfare minister in connection with the misappropriation of funds generated through letting out of the conference hall of Gopabandhu Ayurveda Mahavidyalaya here to various government and private agencies.
The Lokayukta has asked the Health Minister to submit a detailed report on the issue before the next hearing on the case.
Besides, the Lokayukta has directed two former clerks of the Ayurveda college to submit their replies on the rent scam before the next hearing on the case, scheduled for January 14.
It is worth mentioning here that RTI activist Batakrushna Pradhan had lodged a complaint with regard to the misappropriation of money with the Odisha Lokayukta. Subsequently, advocate Prasanna Dash had lodged a complaint in this regard with the Vigilance department superintendent of police (SP), Bhubaneswar.
While answering to an RTI query, the college authorities claimed that they had not let out the conference hall to any outside agency. However, it was subsequently found that the college authorities had let out the conference hall for the annual general body meeting of Puri-Nimapara Central Cooperative Bank for 2016-17. The bank authorities had paid Rs 10,000 as rent for using the conference hall, sources said.
Subsequently, the Vigilance department has started an investigation into the misappropriation of funds and seized some documents in this connection.
The Vigilance sleuths had revealed that two former clerks of the college—Ajay Kumar Das and Himanshu Sekhar Dash have misappropriated the funds generated through letting out the conference hall.
College principal, Sudarshan Behera, too admitted that two former clerks of the institution had misappropriated the money. He had also revealed that the college authorities have recovered Rs 1.85 lakh from the two former clerks.
Notably, the conference hall at the college was constructed during the Nabakalebara of Srimandir deities in 2015. The college authorities have been given the authority to manage the hall.
