Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s Director General of Prisons Susanta Kumar Nath has been accused of sexual harassment, criminal intimidation and misuse of official position by a former jailer of Choudwar Circle Jail.
Meanwhile, Nath, a 1993, batch IPS officer, has been posted as OSD in the Home Department, according to an official notification issued on Sunday. Nath was not immediately available to comment on the allegations made against him.
Ex-jailor Santoshini Dash has also alleged that the senior IPS officer threatened to end her career and cause physical harm to her and her children.
In a written complaint lodged at Choudwar Police Station on October 31, 2026, Dash named Nath and Kuldeep Ratha, described as a friend of the IPS officer, in connection with the allegations.
According to the complaint, the alleged harassment began after Nath visited Choudwar Circle Jail on June 16, 2025. After rejoining duty on July 18, Dash spoke to the DG over the phone and was asked to facilitate a visit by Ratha, whom he introduced as his friend.
She alleged that Ratha subsequently obtained her mobile number and started sending suggestive and unwelcome messages.
It was alleged that Ratha invited her on August 29, 2025, to meet him alone at a restaurant or hotel named ‘Blast’ in Kataka for dinner, claiming that the DG wanted to meet her privately. He reportedly made another invitation on September 25 or 26 to Hotel Pramod, where Nath would allegedly be present. Dash said she declined the invitations on both occasions.
Dash also linked the alleged harassment to her earlier complaint against Sujit Kumar Raula, the then Senior Superintendent of Choudwar Circle Jail.
According to her complaint, two undertrial prisoners escaped from the jail during the intervening night of October 2 and 3, 2025. She alleged that Raula subsequently forged her signature and manipulated official records to implicate her in the incident. She filed FIR No. 35/2025 against Raula at Choudwar Police Station.
Dash alleged that following the FIR, Nath suspended her on February 19, 2026, disallowed her medical leave, stopped her salary and initiated five departmental proceedings against her.
She further claimed that her subsistence allowance was withheld for nearly six months, causing financial hardship to her and her two minor daughters. The allowance was reportedly released on August 4, 2026, following the intervention of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
In her complaint, Dash alleged that she met Nath at his office on September 7 and 8, 2026. During the meetings, he allegedly told her that she would not have faced all these had she met him earlier. She claimed that Nath was referring to her refusal to meet him privately at a hotel.
It was further alleged that Nath pressured her to withdraw the FIR against Raula and threatened termination from service or demotion if she refused.
Dash also alleged that Nath threatened physical harm to her and her children and continued to intimidate her through departmental proceedings.
Sources said the Kataka Deputy Commissioner of Police informed the Additional Chief Secretary of the Home Department and the Commissioner of Police about the complaint and registration of the case through an official communication dated October 31.
The police have registered the case under Sections 75(2), 351(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)
