Bhubaneswar: Former DG Prisons and Correctional Service Susanta Kumar Nath, who moved Orissa High Court on Monday for relief amid allegations of sexual harassment and intimidation by a former woman jailer, found himself in fresh trouble, with another suspended jail officer accusing him of attempting to implicate an undertrial in a false narcotics case.
In a petition submitted to the Home Department, suspended Baleshwar district jailor Pradipta Kumar Mahalik alleged that Nath ordered him on October 9 to plant brown sugar in the pocket of an undertrial inmate, identified as Rajiv Lochan Das. Mahalik claimed that Nath telephoned him on October 8 and summoned him to Bhubaneswar for an urgent meeting despite the Odisha bandh. The following morning, Bhubaneswar jail superintendent Sarbeswar Sahoo took him to the DG’s residence, where he conveyed Nath’s instruction to secretly plant brown sugar in the pocket of undertrial. Mahalik claimed he refused the illegal order. He was later called to Nath’s office, where the IPS officer allegedly repeated the directive and offered money and promotion as incentives. After Mahalik again declined, he was suspended five days later under the pretext of negligence and dereliction of duty. A Home department official said the allegations would be verified.
These fresh allegations come alongside the ongoing legal fallout from the initial sexual harassment FIR lodged at the Choudwar police station. Former Choudwar Circle Jail jailor Santoshini Dash accused Nath and his associate, Kuldeep Ratha, of workplace sexual harassment, criminal intimidation, and threatening her life and career. Police have registered a case under Sections 75(2), 351(2), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on Saturday and confirmed that preliminary examination of the allegations is complete. Nath was removed from the top prison post and reassigned as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Home Department on Sunday.
In response, both Nath and Ratha have filed petitions in the Orissa High Court seeking anticipatory bail, legal protection, and the quashing of the FIR.
The controversy has also impacted Nath’s career trajectory; once in the race for the State Director General of Police, the last-minute withdrawal of his integrity certificate by the state government has drawn scrutiny, with the Supreme Court reviewing the matter in light of guidelines established in the landmark 2006 Prakash Singh case.
Nath could not be reached for comment regarding the fresh allegations.
