Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Kendrapara/Bhubaneswar, Jan 30:

The Kendrapara district administration has served notices to concerned persons and officials to record their statements tomorrow before the inquiry officer in connection with the case pertaining to alleged fraudulent withdrawal of nominations of a candidate for Samiti Sabhya in Penthapala panchayat.

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Kendrapara ADM Dhananjaya Swain has been entrusted to conduct the inquiry. Swain will record statements of the concerned Samiti Sabhya candidate, her proposer and officers present at the time of submission of withdrawal application by the candidate.

“A formal inquiry into the matter is on. ADM has been entrusted to conduct the inquiry. Accordingly, he has served notices to the candidate, her proposer and officials present at that time to record their statements in the matter before him tomorrow,” informed Kendrapara Collector Muralidhar Mallik to reporters today.

It will be worthwhile to mention here that two female Samiti Sabhya candidates-Pramila Mallick and Gayatri Sethy had on January 22 lodged written complaints against Kendrapara MLA Kishore Tarai and Pattamundai BDO for getting their nominations withdrawn fraudulently.

The two had alleged in their complaints that the MLA with the help of the BDO had fraudulently managed to withdraw their nominations without their knowledge to get Babita Tarai wife of Kendrapara MLA to get elected uncontested.

The two complainants accompanied by a delegation of the Congress led by senior leader Ganeswar Behera had met the SEC on Tuesday and lodged a complaint with the Commission on this account.

Following which the SEC ordered an inquiry and basing on the report Pattamundai BDO was transferred.

In an interesting twist to the controversy, Gayatri’s husband Daitari Sethi today submitted letters to the Collector and SP purportedly written by Gayatri stating that she had in person along with her supporters and proposers submitted her application before the BDO on January 21to withdraw her candidature.

She has claimed in the letter that yielding to pressure from Congress leaders she had stated that she had not withdrawn her nominations while alleging that it was fraudulently withdrawn.

Daitari today turned up at the SEC’s office here and met him in this connection.