Bhubaneswar: A social activist today lodged an FIR against former bureaucrat and BJD leader VK Pandian at Capital police station here.

In his FIR, Social activist Sudhir Charan Mohanty accused Pandian of gross misappropriation of funds, bribery, violation of government norms and showing undue favour to some private parties during his tenure as the Private Secretary to then Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Mohanty, an advocate, further alleged that Pandian was involved in several illegal activities to subserve the political interest of BJD as per the direction of Patnaik.

According to the complainant, Pandian, during his tenure as the Private Secretary to then Chief Minister, had toured across the state in helicopter and conducted several public meetings in all 30 districts to hear people’s grievances.

The district administrations had constructed helipads for the high-profile tour. Besides, large pandals and tents with light and sound system were erected for conducting the public meetings, claimed the complainant in his FIR.

Citing the Transport Department’s response to an RTI query, the complainant further claimed that the state government had not booked any helicopter for Pandian’s tour.

According to the complainant, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) and various departments of the state government including Transport, Parliamentary Affairs, Panchayati Raj, Revenue and Disaster Management, and Women and Child Development have no information regarding the funds sanctioned for the statewide tour and public meetings of Pandian.

Similarly, the administrations of at least 15 districts in Odisha did not have any information regarding the expenses incurred on Pandian’s visit, claimed Mohanty.

The complainant alleged that Pandian had made around 300 helicopter trips to various places in the state without the sanction of a single rupee from the public exchequer.

Similarly, the state government had not made any budgetary provisions to meet the expenses of Pandian’s public meetings, he claimed.

“When there was no sanction of funds by the state government, now the question is who bore the expenses for Pandian’s tours. It is alleged that owners of mines, land mafia and some non-Odia contractors had funded the bureaucrat’s trips to various places,” said Mohanty in his FIR.

The complainant urged the police to conduct an inquiry and find out the source of funding for Pandian’s tours. He also requested the cops to take legal action against Pandian, then CM Patnaik and all officials who were coordinating the programme.

Notably, Pandian, a close aide of Patnaik, had joined BJD after taking voluntary retirement from Indian Administrative Service (IAS). However, he quitted active politics after the defeat of BJD in 2024 polls in Odisha.