Odisha cadre IFS officer Surendra Prasad Mohapatra, who was held in the US for alleged wrongful confinement of a hotel staffer, has been granted bail and released from police custody. He will appear before a Pennsylvania court on August 1 for charge-framing.
Mohapatra, a 1986 batch officer, was granted bail on a surety of $ 35,000, approximately Rs 22 lakh, on Friday evening. His family arranged the funds and wired it to the Consulate General’s Office in New York. The Government of India too has chipped in with financial support.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests PN Padhi confirmed that Mohapatra had been bailed out. “I spoke to him and he is back to his hotel in New York,” he told this paper on Saturday.
The IFS officer’s fate will be decided when the hearing on the police report starts in a Pennsylvania court on August 1. The Government of India will support him in the legal battle which is pretty expensive, official sources said. “If he has to bear it, Mohapatra may have to cough up close to Rs 1 crore towards advocate fee alone,” sources added.
Mohapatra, who is on an official training to Syracuse University, was held on Wednesday after a staffer of the hotel, where he has put up, lodged a complaint over allegations of wrongful confinement.
Since he cannot leave the US shores now, Mohapatra is likely to be accommodated by a relative in Atlanta and stay in touch with the Indian Embassy for the legal procedures.
Comments
0 comment