Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Crime Branch has formally taken over the investigation into the alleged disappearance of the Justice A.S. Naidu Commission report on the 2008 killing of VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati.

In an official statement issued on Tuesday, the CID Crime Branch said it has re-registered the case following the orders of the Director General of Police.

The case has been registered under Sections 305, 316(2), 238(c), 241 and 61(2)(b) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. The Crime Branch said the decision was taken "in view of the larger public interest and to ensure an impartial and thorough investigation" into the case originally registered at Capital Police Station in Bhubaneswar.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Asutosh Mishra has been assigned to investigate the case, while Superintendent of Police Anirudha Routray will supervise and monitor the probe. The agency said the investigation is currently in progress.

The development comes a day after Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi ordered a Crime Branch inquiry into the missing Justice Naidu Commission report.

The controversy stems from an FIR lodged by the Home Department at Capital Police Station on June 10 regarding the alleged disappearance of two inquiry commission reports from the CMO. Besides the Justice Naidu Commission report, the missing documents also include the Revenue Divisional Commissioner's inquiry report into the 2016 SUM Hospital fire tragedy in Bhubaneswar.

According to the FIR, the Home Department had submitted the inquiry reports along with several other important files to the CMO. After the 2024 Assembly elections, the CMO reportedly returned the other files to the Home Department on June 4, 2024. However, the Justice Naidu Commission report and the RDC inquiry report were allegedly not returned.

Justice A.S. Naidu had submitted his commission's report to the state government in 2016 following an inquiry into the killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati at the Jalespeta Ashram in Kandhamal district in August 2008. The RDC inquiry report into the SUM Hospital fire tragedy was submitted in 2018.

The Crime Branch is expected to investigate the circumstances leading to the disappearance of the reports and determine responsibility for the missing documents.