The Odisha Health and Family Welfare Department on Saturday placed Dr. Susanta Kumar Panigrahi, a Group-A psychiatrist posted at City Hospital, Brahmapur, and deployed as a specialist to Circle Jail, Brahmapur, under immediate suspension.
The official order, issued by the Commissioner-cum-Secretary, cites contemplated disciplinary proceedings under the Odisha Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1962. During the suspension period, Dr. Panigrahi’s headquarters will remain at City Hospital, Brahmapur. He cannot leave the headquarters without prior permission and will receive subsistence allowance as per rules.
The action follows a police case registered at Gosaninuagaon police station against former Berhampur MLA and BJD leader Bikram Kumar Panda, his associate Madan Dalai, and Dr. Panigrahi. Police allege that while Panda was in judicial custody in the Pitabas Panda murder case, he used the doctor’s personal mobile phone from the jail doctor’s chamber (or an adjoining room to avoid CCTV) around 28 August 2026 to contact a key witness, Lalit Mangaraj. The calls allegedly involved threats and offers of inducement to change testimony.
Brahmapur SP Sarvana Vivek M stated that technical evidence, including call records, audio, and CCTV footage, supported the complaint. Police seized Dr. Panigrahi’s phone and questioned him for about three hours. Sources claimed he admitted to the facts during interrogation. Police had earlier indicated they would recommend departmental action against the doctor for facilitating prohibited phone use inside the prison.
Bikram Panda was granted conditional bail by the Orissa High Court on 1 September 2026 in the October 2025 murder of senior advocate and BJP leader Pitabas Panda. One bail condition barred him from threatening or influencing witnesses. The new FIR could have implications for his bail. The investigation into how an inmate accessed a mobile phone inside jail premises is continuing.
