BJP MP Pradeep Panigrahy found not guilty in multiple job fraud cases

Bhubaneswar, Jan 8: The JMFC (Rural) court acquitted BJP MP Pradeep Panigrahy from Berhampur on Wednesday in three remaining job fraud cases. This decision follows his earlier acquittal in two cases by a special court designated for MPs and MLAs, which were registered at the Golanthara and Baidyanathpur police stations.

Panigrahy faced a total of five job fraud allegations, accused of deceiving young individuals by falsely promising them employment with an automobile company. On Tuesday, his attorney, Deepak Patnaik, stated that the MP was cleared in the two earlier cases due to insufficient evidence. Additionally, the special court also exonerated former IFS officer Abhay Pathak and his son Akash, who were co-defendants in one of the cases.

During the proceedings, complainants Lakshmidhar Naya and Kartik Pradhan, a police constable who had previously served as Panigrahy's security officer, testified that the MP did not demand money for securing jobs at Tata Motors.

The complainants further revealed that they were pressured by senior officials in Ganjam and BJD leaders to file complaints against Panigrahy. It’s important to note that he was arrested by the CID Crime Branch of Odisha Police on December 3, 2020, for allegedly collecting large sums of money from youth under the pretense of providing them jobs.