Land Grabbing Case Against OTV: Six Members Quit Women Development Panel

Khurda: Trouble seems to be mounting the Odisha Television (OTV) Ltd with the resignation of two office bearers and four members of the Sarua Women Development Committee in Khurda district.

The Sarua Women Development Committee was founded as part of OTV’s CSR activities.

The six members, including committee president Jayanti Sahoo and treasurer Rashmita Mahabhoi, have sent their resignation to OTV MD Jagi Mangat Panda, citing that the company had purchased rayati lands belonging to Scheduled Caste persons of Sarua village on false promises.

It may be mentioned that the people of Sarua, Jayamangal and Goudaput villages in Begunia tehsil had staged a demonstration at the office of the Khurda collector on September 26 and sought his intervention to make the area free from encroachment.

The villagers had alleged that the OTV MD and other employees of the company had purchased the land a few years back after luring the villagers with false promises. Later, they constructed buildings, boundary, pond and road grabbing the adjoining farmland of the villagers.

Acting on the complaints, a case was registered at the Baghamari Police Station under section 447, 506, 34IPC and 3(1) (f) (g) 2 (va) SC/ST PA Act against OTV MD, her father and brother.

This was followed by the Revenue and Disaster Management Department writing to the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Crime Branch for an investigation into the sale of lands owned by the Scheduled Caste persons in favour of Odisha lnfra Tech Pvt Ltd through Benami transaction through Rabindra Kumar Sethy, a former driver of ORTEL Communications, a sister concern of OTV.