BHUBANESWAR : The Odisha Lokayukta has filed a complaint in the court of Special Judge, Vigilance against a petitioner for levelling false allegations of corruption against two public servants.
The petitioner, Janaranjan Dash, had lodged a complaint with the Lokayukta on May 26 last year alleging Bhubaneswar rural works division’s superintending engineer Ashok Behera and assistant executive engineer Prakash Pal resorted to corrupt practices in construction of a road from Jamujhari to Guptapada in Khurda district.
Basing on the complaint, the Lokayukta registered a case and launched an investigation into the matter. In the preliminary inquiry report, the Lokayukta bench established that Dash filed a false and vexatious complaint against the two public servants. An order was passed to proceed against Dash under Section 46 (1) of Lokayukta Act, 2014, by filing a complaint against him in the Vigilance court in Bhubaneswar.
The Lokayukta’s secretary (judicial) said the provisions of Odisha Lokayukta Act are never to harass honest public servants and section 46 has been enacted to take action against persons filing false complaints.
Dash had alleged that the road between Jamujhari and Guptapada was half-laid and substandard materials were used for its construction. He even claimed Behera and Pal had misappropriated a huge amount out of Rs 5 lakh sanctioned for construction of the road.
Lokayukta issued notices to Behera and Pal on July 6, 2023 and sought their replies. The two officials refuted the allegations and even submitted photographs of the road indicating that it was in a good condition.