Sambalpur: The Sambalpur district administration has ordered the immediate removal of the seal placed on the house of a 62-year-old divyang man in Jamankira block after allegations surfaced that the property was wrongly sealed despite the family having no connection to any bank loan.

Sambalpur Collector has directed the block administration to unseal the house on Friday and ordered an inquiry into the incident to determine how the alleged administrative lapse occurred.

Family alleges house was sealed despite having no bank loan

The case involves Dhananjaya Pradhan, a resident of Gautampali village under Gourpali Revenue Circle in Jamankira block. Pradhan, who is a Divyang (specially-abled) senior citizen, has alleged that neither he nor any member of his family had taken a loan from the DCB Bank or stood as guarantor for any borrower.

Despite this, officials of DCB Bank, accompanied by local block administration personnel, allegedly sealed a portion of his house on June 5 as part of a loan recovery process.

Since then, Pradhan, his 57-year-old wife, his 35-year-old widowed daughter-in-law, and his two granddaughters aged 14 and 9 have reportedly been forced to live in a single room under difficult conditions.

The family said essential household belongings, along with the two school-going girls' books and uniforms, remained locked inside the sealed portion of the house, disrupting their education and daily life.

Pradhan alleged that the family became victims of a mistake involving the revenue department and the bank. They claimed to have repeatedly approached the Jamankira Tehsildar and the Sambalpur District Collector seeking intervention, but no action had been taken since the house was sealed.

Following media attention and public concern, the district administration reviewed the matter. The Collector has now directed the block administration to remove the seal immediately and has ordered a detailed investigation into the circumstances that led to the action.

Officials said the inquiry will examine whether procedural lapses or errors by the revenue authorities or the bank resulted in the wrongful sealing of the house. Further action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation.