The Naveen Patnaik Government appears desperate to ensure that former State DGP Prakash Mishra is out of the race for the post of CBI Director.
Reliable sources said that after slapping an FIR against Mishra through the Vigilance department, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) has asked the State Home Department to initiate two official proceedings against ‘irregularities’ allegedly committed by Mishra between 2005 and 2009.
This move was initiated after Mishra filed a petition in the Odisha High Court seeking quashing of the FIR on grounds that it reeks of mala fide and vendetta.
The High Court, which has taken up Mishra’s petition, has already restrained the Government from taking any ‘coercive action’ against him. Mishra is presently posted as the Special Secretary, Internal Security, Government of India.
It is not clear why the two old cases had to be dug out now unless the move was driven by mala fide intentions, said sources. A former Odisha cadre IPS officer observed, “The idea is not to prove the charges but to obstruct the way for Prakash Mishra becoming CBI Director. Why should a clean and transparent Government be jittery about Mishra occupying that post unless it has too many skeletons in its cupboard to hideIJ” he asked.
The sources said that worried over the possibility of the Vigilance FIR against Mishra boomerang, a team of officers, including a former CMD of the Odisha State Police Housing & Welfare Corporation (OSPHWC) , is working overtime to prepare other grounds for cases against Mishra.