Bhubaneswar, 06 January (H.S.): The Odisha Information Commission has ordered a police enquiry into allegations of bribery involving a habitual RTI applicant, directing the police authorities to investigate the matter. In this regard, the Registrar of the Commission has formally written to the Director General of Police (DGP), Odisha, seeking appropriate action.

According to official sources, the Commission recently received a complaint along with a video clip purportedly showing an RTI applicant, identified as Tankadhar Sahu of Balangir district, allegedly demanding illegal gratification from Public Information Officers (PIOs) in exchange for withdrawing RTI-related complaints. A scrutiny of records revealed that the applicant had filed hundreds of RTI applications against various government departments, many of which are currently at different stages of adjudication before the Commission.

Further examination indicated that the applicant had been frequently staying in Bhubaneswar and allegedly demanding bribes from PIOs and First Appellate Authorities who appeared for hearings before the Commission. It was alleged that he adopted a practice of seeking adjournments during hearings and subsequently withdrawing the cases after receiving illegal gratification.

The matter was placed before a Full Bench of the Odisha Information Commission, which, after due consideration, decided to refer the case to the police for enquiry. The Commission has forwarded the video clip and other related materials to the police authorities as evidence. It has also decided to keep all cases filed by the said applicant pending until the completion of the police investigation.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda