IAS Bishnupad Sethi has confirmed his decision to appear in Delhi, as he mentioned in a letter to the CBI. In the letter, he assured his cooperation with the investigation and pledged to provide all necessary information. Furthermore, he specifically requested not to appear in Bhubaneswar.
The CBI summoned Bishnupad Sethi regarding a transaction of ₹15 lakh involving the Bridge and Roof Company GGM. While the summons was issued on the 10th, it required him to appear on the 11th. Meanwhile, the CBI also interrogated three of his drivers, as they suspect that bribe money was routed through the relatives of these drivers.
Subsequently, the investigation revealed a new angle of tender fixing after CBI officers seized ₹10 lakh in cash from a car in the Jaydev Vihar area and arrested three individuals. These arrests included Chanchal Mukherjee, General Manager of the Central PSU Bridge and Roof Company; Devdatta Mahapatra of Aditya Dev Infrastructure Ltd.; and Satya Maharana of Penta A Stock Pvt. Ltd. Consequently, the CBI found evidence linking Bishnupad to the case.
Moreover, reports indicate that Bishnupad, in his capacity as Principal Secretary of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes Department, wrote to the heads of four central PSUs—Bridge and Roof, Wapcos, NBCC, and CEL—directing them to develop residential ashram schools under the state government. Notably, he instructed them to prepare a design and plan worth ₹361 crore and submit it to the department.
As a result, several questions have arisen. Why did Bishnupad bypass the state’s own organization, which has the necessary expertise? Why did he avoid an open tender process? On whose instructions did he assign the work directly to these central PSUs? Finally, did he secure government approval for these decisions? These unanswered queries have added fuel to the ongoing scrutiny of the case.