Bhubaneswar, November 17: The Odisha Police has come under sharp criticism for allegedly undermining Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s people-centric grievance redressal mechanism, despite the Government’s repeated claims of prioritising quality disposal of public complaints lodged at the Chief Minister’s Grievance Cell.
Fifteen years after the last in-person grievance hearing by a serving Chief Minister, Mohan Charan Majhi revived the system with much public appreciation after BJP came to power in the State last year. Former CM Naveen Patnaik had last visited the grievance cell on August 16, 2008. The resumption of physical hearings was hailed as a historic step towards transparency, accountability and direct communication between citizens and the state leadership.
However, a recent case has reportedly exposed serious loopholes in how complaints forwarded from the CM’s desk are being handled by the Odisha Police.
On May 19, 2025, an elderly woman, Bhumika Pradhan, from Praharajpur village of Gotara Gram Panchayat under Bhadreswar police station in Cuttack district, approached Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi during his Monday Grievance Programme. Carrying acknowledgement number 20250519-CMO-0228 and ticket number CMO20251206305, she alleged continuous police inaction since 2021 despite repeated petitions submitted to Bhadreswar Police Station under Salipur Sub-Division.
During the interaction, Chief Minister Majhi, after attentively hearing her plea, directed an ADG rank officer present to ensure timely and just resolution, assuring her that the serious nature of her complaint warranted immediate intervention.
The woman stated that her neighbour had illegally dug a pond right beside her house, posing a severe risk to the lives of her three minor children who had already slipped and fallen into the water several times. With no police action forthcoming, she later approached the Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) on June 24, 2024.
The OHRC then sought a factual report from the Superintendent of Police, Cuttack. As per official findings, the illegal act was attributed to Sudam Charan Jena, Padma Charan Jena and Madan Mohan Jena, all belonging to the same family. The inquiry report confirmed the unlawful digging of the pond as alleged and acknowledged prior complaints dating back to 2021.
Taking cognizance of the report, the OHRC on March 28, 2025, ordered the IIC of Bhadreswar Police Station to ensure the pond was filled with sand and soil to prevent further risk to the children. However, the petitioner alleged that even after the OHRC’s directive, no field-level action was taken, forcing her to escalate the matter to the Chief Minister himself.
Shockingly, nearly three months after the Chief Minister’s direct intervention, the matter was marked “disposed of” on August 16, 2025, on the basis of an old police report from 2024, without any fresh verification or compliance action, raising serious questions over transparency, accountability and sincerity within the police system thereby undermining the very position of the Chief Minister.
The case has triggered public criticism, with several activists stating that such arbitrary disposal of complaints not only defeats the purpose of a revived grievance hearing system but also projects an image contrary to the “People’s Chief Minister” initiative that Majhi has attempted to cultivate.
Citizens and rights advocates have demanded an immediate re-evaluation of grievance monitoring systems, stronger accountability checks, and direct follow-up mechanisms at the CM’s office to prevent misuse or closure of cases without ground-level compliance.
As the State Government continues to highlight governance reforms, this incident is expected to spark further debate on whether systemic gaps – not political will -remain the biggest hurdle for justice delivery in Odisha.
