‘Missing’ inquiry report on Swami Laxmanananda killing sparks political row in Odisha

The Odisha unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday alleged that the judicial inquiry report into the 2008 murder of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati was willfully suppressed and that key files related to the case went missing during the final days of the previous Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP state headquarters, party General Secretary Biranchi Narayan Tripathy said Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, who had worked for over four decades among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Kandhamal and other parts of Odisha, was assassinated on August 23, 2008, on the occasion of Janmashtami.

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Tripathy alleged that despite earlier threats and attacks on the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader, adequate security arrangements were not ensured. He claimed that the security cover provided to the Swami had been withdrawn on the day of the murder.

Following the killing and the subsequent violence in Kandhamal, the then state government constituted a judicial commission headed by Justice Sarat Mohapatra. After Justice Mohapatra’s demise, Justice A.S. Naidu took charge of the inquiry and submitted the commission’s report to the state government on September 16, 2016, after nearly eight years of investigation.

The BJP leader alleged that although the report was submitted in 2016, the then BJD government neither made it public nor acted on repeated demands for its disclosure. He claimed that after the BJP came to power in 2024 and initiated efforts to trace the report, the file could not be found.

The official records indicate that the commission’s report was forwarded to the Chief Minister’s Office on September 19, 2016, for consideration. However, no decision was taken on it, said Trripathy.

He further alleged that during the transfer of official records following the change of government in June 2024, two important files were found missing—one relating to the Swami Laxmanananda murder case and the subsequent Kandhamal violence, and another concerning the inquiry into the SUM Hospital fire tragedy.

Tripathy said repeated communications were sent to former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik seeking information about the missing files, but no response was received. He alleged that the disappearance of the documents raised serious questions and warranted a thorough investigation.

The BJP leader claimed that the missing report could have thrown light on the circumstances surrounding the murder and the subsequent unrest in Kandhamal. He demanded that the BJD explain how the files went missing.

Tripathy said an FIR has already been registered regarding the disappearance of the documents and expressed confidence that the police investigation would reveal the facts. He added that strict action would be taken if it is established that the files were deliberately removed or concealed.

Senior BJP leader and Balasore district in-charge Goutam Ray was also present at the press conference.