Odisha court rejects ex-collector Debaraj Mishra’s bail plea

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Balangir, Nov 10:

The Special Vigilance Court here today rejected the bail application of Debaraj Mishra, the former collector of Odisha’s Bolangir district, who was arrested on November 7 in connection with the gross irregularities in the appointment of revenue inspectors (RIs) and amins during his tenure as collector of the district during 2012-13.

The court upheld the decision of the Additional District Judge (ADJ) court here which had remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days on November 8.

Mishra’s counsel Pramod Mishra, in his arguments before the court contended that all the nine charges against his client were baseless and untenable. This was countered by the special public prosecutor Jai Bihari Kadam.

Advocate Pramod Mishra said his client will be moving the High Court for bail.

The former is currently lodged in the Balangir district jail.

Mishra was arrested from his residence in Kapilaparasad in Bhubaneswar November 7 by a joint team of vigilance officials from Sambalpur and Bhubaneswar divisions in connection with the gross irregularities in the appointment of revenue inspectors (RIs) and amins during his tenure as collector of Bolangir district during 2012-13.

Vigilance sleuths claimed to have seized a number of incriminating documents, besides about 300 grams of gold from his residence during the raid.

The startling revelations about the gross irregularities obtained through RTI had led first to a Vigilance inquiry followed by a Crime Branch probe and culminated in Mishra’s arrest on November 7.

Mishra was suspended by the government before his arrest after preliminary investigation found prima facie evidence against him.