BERHAMPUR: The Health and Family Welfare department on Saturday suspended the doctor deployed at Berhampur circle jail over his alleged role in facilitating phone calls through which a witness in the Pitabas Panda murder case was allegedly threatened and offered inducements.
The suspended doctor is Susanta Kumar Panigrahi, a Group-A (junior branch) leave training reserve medical officer (LTRMO) of Berhampur City Hospital, who was deployed at the jail as a specialist in Psychiatry.
The action against Panigrahi comes after police registered a case against him on allegations that he facilitated a telephone conversation between former Berhampur MLA Bikram Panda, an accused in the murder case, and a witness.
According to the complaint filed by witness Lalit Mangaraj, Panda and his associate Madan Dalai went to Panigrahi’s chamber inside the jail. The doctor allegedly contacted him through WhatsApp call and told him that Panda wanted to speak to him before handing over the phone. Panda allegedly took the mobile phone to another room to avoid CCTV surveillance and spoke to the witness. Dalai too is alleged to have threatened the witness.
Mangaraj subsequently lodged a complaint with Gosaninuagaon police on September 1. He also submitted an audio recording of the alleged telephone conversation to the police.
Acting on the direction of SP Saravana Vivek M, a police team visited the jail and questioned Panigrahi. His mobile phone and relevant CCTV footage were also seized for examination. Later, police registered a case against the doctor after collecting technical evidence and informed the state government about his alleged involvement in the case.
During the suspension period, Panigrahi’s headquarters will remain at City Hospital, Berhampur. He will not be permitted to leave the headquarters without obtaining prior permission from the competent authority. Panigrahi would be entitled to subsistence allowance in accordance with Rule 90 of the Odisha Service Code.
The development comes amid the ongoing investigation into the murder of advocate Pitabas Panda in which the former MLA was arrested and lodged in jail.