Bhubaneswar: The authorities have temporarily closed the government circuit house in Odisha’s Rourkela city following allegations that a porn actress was allowed to stay at the facility.

The state government has also ordered a departmental inquiry into the allegations. This was revealed by Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari on Saturday.

“The Rourkela circuit house has been temporarily closed. All officials and the Nazir responsible for its management have been removed from their respective duties. A departmental inquiry has been ordered into the matter,” said the Revenue Minister.

According to the Minister, a special team is also investigating whether the provisions of the Odisha Circuit House Act were misused in connection with the incident.

“The state government is examining the circumstances surrounding the incident and identifying those who may have been directly or indirectly involved,” added the Minister.

Pujari further announced that new rules for the management and booking of circuit houses across Odisha will be introduced soon. The government is considering an online booking system on the lines of the system currently used for Odisha Bhavan.

“Strict action would be taken against any officials found to have been involved in the incident, either directly or indirectly, based on the findings of the inquiry,” Pujari said.

The police had earlier launched a probe into the allegations that the porn actress was allowed to stay at the government-run circuit house in Rourkela last year.

As per the allegations, some influential people had invited the woman porn star to Rourkela and arranged for her stay at the circuit house at Panposh in the Steel City.

The porn actress had reportedly arrived at the Jharsuguda Airport and she was taken to Rourkela in a luxury car. She allegedly stayed at the circuit house for a few days.

The porn star reportedly shared videos of her road journey from Jharsuguda to Rourkela and the interiors of the circuit house in her blog.   

The cops, meanwhile, have interrogated several persons including the employees of the circuit house, a businessman, the owner of the luxury car, the driver and the son of a former Superintendent of Police (SP)-rank officer in connection with the incident.