Bhubaneswar: The House Committee of the Odisha Assembly on Tuesday asked the Abhijit Iyer Mitra to appear in person again on November 2 and submit an affidavit.
Soon after he reached at the State Assembly hall no-14 with his lawyer amid tight security, the research scholar was grilled by the House Committee in two phases and his statement was recorded.
During the first-phase grilling, Abhijit tendered his apology to the House Committee.
Briefing mediapersons later, leader of the Opposition and chairman of the House Committee Narasingha Mishra said Abhijit has been asked to appear again in person on November 2 with an affidavit. The committee, after going through his affidavit, will decide the next course of action.
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“The committee, which was formed on the basis of the allegations by the members of the State Assembly, is probing the matter and Abhijit has admitted that the allegations brought against him are true. He apologised for his ‘stupidity’ to the House Committee,” Mishra said.
The House Committee told Abhijit that if he wanted to explain in details about the statement he had given or if he was keen for additional statement, he can mention them in his affidavit.
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“The Committee, after accepting the affidavit will decide whether it should accept the unconditional apology of Abhijit. It will later recommend the State Assembly on the next course of action,” Mishra added.
Asked whether the House Committee will probe the other allegations brought against Abhijit, he said the Committee will on focus on the allegations which were raised by the members in the State Assembly and on the basis of its investigation it will submit its report to the State Assembly.
Mishra, however, said that the House Committee may consider other allegations against Abhijit.
Meanwhile, talking to mediapersons after attending a high-level meeting at the DGP camp office here, Police Commissioner Satyajit Mohanty said Abhijit has been asked to appear in person at the Saheed Nagar police station in the afternoon for an interrogation by the investigating officer (IO) in connection with a complaint lodged against him.
IG, Central Range, Soumendra Priyadarshi said the IOs of Konark police station and Arakhakuda Marine police station will also interrogate Abhijit at the Saheed Nagar police station since complaints have been registered against him at these two police stations. On the basis of the interrogation, police will take necessary action against him, he added.
The House Committee on September 28 had asked Abhijit to appear in person on October 11. Instead of appearing in person, Abhijit had tendered an apology through an e-mail to the Speaker through the secretary of the State Assembly.
Assuming that Abhijit could not arrive due to the cyclonic storm, the House Committee had directed him to appear on October 23.
A decision to form a House Committee was taken at the all-party meeting convened by Speaker Pradip Kumar Amat on the last day of the Monsoon session of the State Assembly on September 20 after members, cutting across party lines, had vehemently protested and criticised the outrageous statement of Abhijit during the privilege motion moved by the Congress.
The Committee led by the Leader of the Opposition Narasingha Mishra as the chairperson with Debi Prasad Mishra, KV Singhdeo, Pramila Mallick, Arun Sahu and Sanjay Dasburma as other members, will submit its report on the first day of the next session of the State Assembly.
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