Senior IAS officer Bishnupada Sethi alleges harassment by CBI team in Bhubaneswar

NEW DELHI: Senior IAS officer Bishnupada Sethi confronted a CBI team during a search of his official residence in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday in connection with a Rs 10 lakh bribery case, claiming harassment despite no FIR being filed against him.
"The CBI officials carried out a search at my residence, even though there is no FIR against me. They are unnecessarily harassing me," Sethi told reporters in the presence of the agency's officials.
Sethi objected to the search procedures, stating, "They came to search my house without prior notice and their eight-member team does not include a woman officer. The male officials searched my house while my wife was the only woman in the house."
"We are being falsely implicated and harassed," Sethi's wife told reporters.
Sources indicate Sethi had previously failed to respond to a CBI summons related to the bribery case. The 1995-batch IAS officer denied any connections with Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited or its group general manager, Chanchal Mukherjee, who was arrested in the case last year.
The case involves the arrest of Mukherjee on December 7 for allegedly accepting a bribe from Santosh Moharana, director of Bhubaneswar-based Penta A Studio Private Ltd, along with middleman Debadutta Mohapatra and another individual.
Following these arrests, the CBI issued a notice to Sethi on December 10, requesting his appearance. The agency's letter stated, "It is learnt that you are acquainted with some important and relevant facts and circumstances of the case, which are required to be ascertained from you."
The investigation had also included interrogation of Sethi's drivers by the CBI last year.