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Case against Lenka takes turn

CUTTACK: The false affidavit case against former Union minister and senior Congress leader Kanhu Charan Lenka took a new turn on Monday. Harihar Parida, who was projected as the complainant against Lenka, filed a case in a local court here denying that he had ever made any complaint before the Election Commission of India implicating the former Union minister.

On the basis of a complaint and subsequent direction from the state chief electoral officer, the district election officer had filed a case against Lenka at SDJM court here last week on charges of submitting ‘false’ affidavit during the filing of nomination papers for 2004 Assembly elections.

Mr. Lenka has been charged with suppressing facts about his property, pending vigilance cases and educational qualification in the mandatory affidavit at the time of filing nomination papers.

The Congress leader had, however, lost the Assembly elections from Choudwar.

Mr. Parida, a former student leader and now a Congress activist of Choudwar, claimed in his petition that his signature had been forged in the original complaint with a motive to damage his relationship with Mr. Lenka.

Urging the court to direct a probe into the forgery, Mr. Parida has alleged that even after his denial, the district administration, state CEO and the EC have gone ahead to file the case against Lenka.

Speaking to reporters after filing the case in SDJM court, Parida said the eagerness with which the government agencies had prepared a case record against a high public dignitary by virtue of a forged complaint and without verifying the records smacks of a concocted effort to tarnish his (Lenka’s) image in public.

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