Complaint accusing Odisha Addl CS of forgery lodged

Reported by Chinmaya Dehury
Bhubaneswar, Sep 19:

A complaint has been lodged with the Capital police station here against the additional chief secretary (Finance), Odisha, Upendra Nath Behera for allegedly furnishing false caste certificate at the time of joining Indian Administrative Services (IAS) and against his wife, who allegedly submitted false affidavit to get land from the General Administration department.

The senior bureaucrat, however, said he is not in a position to comment on the matter as he is yet to see the complaint filed against him.

According to the complaint by Ashok Mallick and Bijay Kumar Parija , the additional chief secretary Upendra Behera has allegedly faked his father’s name in 1983 as Laxmidhar Behera of Jahala Mahanga, Cuttack in order to obtain schedule caste certificate to appear at the IAS exam as an SC candidate.

“The IAS officer actually belongs to the general caste. He does not belong to SC caste by birth or through genuine biological parents. He was adopted and brought up by a person of SC ‘Chamar’ named Laxidhar Behera while he was 9 years old,” said the complainants.

The complainants also alleged that his wife Anusuya Behera submitted a false affidavit to get a GA plot while his IAS husband had already owned a property in Patia area of Bhubaneswar.

“Ms Behera has submitted a false affidavit in 2002 suppressing the ownership of a residential plot by her husband Upendra Nath Behera since 1997 to obtain GA plot no. 295, corner 55 by 75 feet, drawing no B367 in 2002 in Bharatpur Mauza, which comes under Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC),” read the complaint.

In his immovable property list submitted to the Centre, the senior IAS officer had informed that he had purchased 4,200 sq ft of land in Patia area in 1997 for Rs 76,000 from one Sailabala Das of Rajabagicha, Cuttack on which he has constructed a house.