Bhubaneswar, July 14: Taradatt, a 1983 batch IAS officer and additional chief secretary, who had recommended action against the illegal beneficiaries of government plots and houses under the discretionary quota, is facing charges of "moral turpitude".
His estranged wife Indulata Das today reiterated her allegation that her husband was having an extramarital affair with a bureaucrat based in Delhi. She said she even apprehended danger to her life.
"I will be happy if my charges are proved wrong. I will touch his feet," the 57-year-old woman, who has a 30-year-old son, told reporters after meeting the State Commission for Women chairperson Lopamudra Bauxipatra, who assured the former that her complaint would be probed.
A Forest Park resident, Indulata alleged that her husband had developed relationship with the bureaucrat during his deputation in Delhi between November 2009 and January 2012.
"Initially for two years, he had successfully concealed his relationship with the unmarried woman. But in June last, I found out about the affair," alleged Indulata.
She alleged that her husband and the bureaucrat used to talk to each other frequently and exchanged messages many times a day.
"They talked even at midnight and at times even around 3am. When I asked my husband for his telephone bills from January 2014 to June 2014, he refused to show me any," she alleged.
Indulata, who holds a PhD in Sanskrit from Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and a Masters degree in yoga from Utkal University, worked as a lecturer and a reader in Sanskrit from 1979 to 2007 in various state colleges. In 2007, she took voluntary retirement to start a cultural organisation called Academy of Yoga and Oriental Studies.
The couple, who have been married for the past 33 years, came to know each other while studying at the BHU.
Taradatt also holds a PhD degree and the couple's only son is employed in the United States.
Indulata said her husband's affair had led to frequent quarrels between them. "I have been subjected to severe mental agony. I apprehended danger to my life as most of the extramarital relations result in the death of the wife. So, I left his government quarter in June last and started living in my own flat," she said.
Indulata had filed a petition with the commission in December last and also filed a written complaint with the Chief Minister's Grievance Cell in December 5 last, demanding police security for her.
Members of Opposition Congress had created a furore in the Assembly in March, seeking a reply from chief minister Naveen Patnaik regarding steps taken to provide her with security.
Taradatt, heading the task force to probe into the irregularities in allotment of plots and houses under the quota, was shunted out to Gopabandhu Academy of Administration in April this year. After the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had detected irregularities in the allotment of houses and plots under the quota, the state government had formed a committee under Taradatt to make a detailed examination.
The panel found that the Bhubaneswar Development Authority, Cuttack Development Authority and the Odisha State Housing Board had distributed nearly 6,001 plots under the quota since 1995.
Taradutt also holds the charge of chief administrator of Koraput-Balangir-Kalahandi. Despite repeated attempts, the senior bureaucrat could not be contacted for his comments.
