BHUBANESWAR: Police on Wednesday arrested assistant executive engineer (AEE) Laxman Hembram on charges of forging the signature and demi-official (DO) pad of Deputy Speaker Bhabani Shankar Bhoi to secure transfer to the block of his choice.
The arrest was made based on the complaint of Bhoi’s personal secretary Niranjan Kumar Sha in Capital police station that Hembram and another AEE Monalisa Behera, both posted in Keonjhar’s Harichandanpur and Banspal blocks respectively, had forged the signature of the Deputy Speaker and created a fake recommendation letter seeking their transfers.
Behera had reportedly sought a posting to Bargaon block, while Hembram was seeking a transfer to Sadar block in Sundargarh district. Subsequently, the transfer order of the duo was issued.
However, the authorities later found out that the recommendation letter submitted by them was fake. “On receiving the complaint, Capital police station registered a case in this connection under various sections of BNS and Information Technology Act,” said zone I ACP, Ramesh Chandra Bisoi. While Hembram was arrested, efforts are underway to nab Behera, he added.
Sources said Hembram reportedly did not cooperate with the investigators regarding how he managed to forge Bhoi’s signature.