Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police have issued notices to former IAS officers Upendra Nath Behera and Rajesh Verma as part of the ongoing investigation into the alleged disappearance of two sensitive inquiry reports from the Odisha Chief Minister's Office (CMO).

According to the notices, Upendra Nath Behera has been directed to appear before the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Zone-I, at 11 am on July 26 for questioning in connection with the case.

The police have also issued a fresh notice to former CMO Principal Secretary Rajesh Verma, who did not appear before investigators despite an earlier summon. He has now been directed to appear before the ACP, Zone-I, on or before July 30.

The latest development comes a day after the police served a notice to former IAS officer V.K. Pandian, former private secretary to ex-Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, asking him to appear before investigators on July 25 at 11 am. Police said information gathered during the investigation suggested that Pandian might be familiar with the facts and circumstances related to the case and requested him to cooperate with the probe.

So far, Pandian, Verma, former IT Secretary Manoj Mishra and now Upendra Nath Behera have been brought within the ambit of the investigation. While Mishra appeared before the Capital Police on July 18, Verma has not yet appeared before the police.

The case relates to the alleged disappearance of two important inquiry reports from the CMO records. These include the Justice A.S. Naidu Commission report on the 2008 Kandhamal riots and the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) inquiry report into the 2016 SUM Hospital fire tragedy.

An FIR was registered on June 10 following allegations that official records were deliberately removed, concealed or destroyed. The Commissionerate Police have maintained that the investigation is being carried out in a fair and impartial manner to determine how the sensitive files went missing.