Circuit House row: Odisha Oppn smells rat in Panposh sub-collector’s transfer
ROURKELA: A day after the state government transferred controversial Panposh sub-collector Chandrakant Mallick, opposition political parties termed it a move to allow him a safe passage and dilute investigation into the arrest of armed criminals from the Rourkela Circuit House.
Mallick had found himself in the centre of the controversy after Union Minister and Sundargarh MP Jual Oram’s Rourkela representative Prakash Paswan was arrested for harbouring criminals at the Circuit House. Mallick was under scanner for allotment of rooms in the government-managed guesthouse, flouting norms.The government transferred Mallick and posted him as the deputy secretary in the Skill Development and Technical Education department in Bhubaneswar. He had joined as Panposh sub-collector in May 2026.
Prior to this, he had served continuously in Rourkela for almost four years as Rourkela tehsildar and Rourkela Development Authority secretary from April 2021 to February 2025. After 14 months of absence from Rourkela, he had returned in May 2026.The Circuit House controversy came to light on August 15. Investigators said Paswan was the prime conspirator in enabling criminals to use the government facility as a safe haven for 25 days.Senior BJD leader Biren Senapati claimed the sub-collector’s transfer was deliberately made to look like a routine transfer and he was effectively given a safe passage to close the chapter forever.
Another leader said when the entire district administration was more than eager to oblige Paswan, there should have been an impartial investigation into the role of the administrative officers in the case.
During his visit to Sundargarh town on September 19, Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari had announced that a departmental inquiry was ordered in the Rourkela Circuit House With a total of 23 cases against him, Paswan is in jail along with his 11 criminal associates.
Following the Circuit House controversy, Paswan was suspended from the post of the party’s Yuva Morcha secretary on August 20.
During his questioning on August 21, Mallick had told Rourkela SP Nitesh Wadhwani that Paswan had requested him for room reservation over phone. Since Paswan was the Union minister’s representative, two rooms were allowed to him from July 21 to 23. Mallick had claimed that he was not aware how the criminals used the rooms.