Odisha Minister clears air on allegation against daughter-in-law

Bhubaneswar: A day after Steel and Mines Minister Prafulla Kumar Mallik’s daughter-in-law was accused of withdrawing salary without attending office for around two years, the Minister today refuted the allegation terming the same as baseless.

Speaking to mediapersons, the Minister said his daughter-in-law Lipsa Pradhan has done Masters in Science (MSc) and Masters in Philosophy (MPhil). She works at Kamakhyanagar College in Dhenkanal district as a Zoology lecturer on contractual basis.

“She was enrolled for PhD programme  in Utkal University but could attend classes due to some health issues of her son. But she was teaching regularly at the College. The allegation levelled by the RTI activist is completely baseless,” said the Minister.

It is pertinent to mention here that RTI activist Jayakrushna Behera alleged that Lipsa Pradhan has received salary from Kamakhyanagar College regularly despite being on leave from 2016 to 2018. On filing an RTI at the said college, the authorities replied that Lipsa was pursuing PhD at Utkal University in Bhubaneswar during the said period.

However, another RTI filed by him at Utkal University revealed that no such candidate has enrolled for the doctoral programme.