It’s now getting increasingly clear that the Naveen Patnaik Government had registered the graft case against senior IPS officer Prakash Mishra in September last only to ensure that the 1979-batch IPS officer was not made the CBI Director. Because ever since Mishra lost the race for the coveted post and was made the DG of CRPF, the State Government seems to be no more interested in pursuing the case further after the Government’s ulterior motive was accomplished.
While the State Vigilance Directorate on Tuesday failed to submit in the Odisha High Court the preliminary inquiry report basing on which the graft case was registered against Mishra, the directorate too is unenthusiastic in going ahead with the investigation in the case.
Mishra in December last was summoned by the Vigilance here to record his views in the case. But the top cop, who was working then in New Delhi as the Special Secretary of Internal Security in Union Home Ministry, had expressed his inability to cooperate with the Vigilance as the Parliament was in session then and he could not leave New Delhi.
But two months have passed in the meantime and the Vigilance Directorate is yet to issue fresh summons to Mishra. When contacted, a top Vigilance officer said the need to issue fresh summons to the former State DGP to record his views on the matter had not yet arisen. Similarly, the State Government appears equally callous in the High Court, which is currently adjudicating Mishra’s petition in which he has sought quashing of the FIR against him.
The court last week had asked the Vigilance to produce in sealed cover the departmental inquiry report, basing on which the FIR was filed. But the Vigilance on Tuesday failed to do so, following which the court asked it to submit the report positively before March 2 and posted the matter to be heard again on March 4.