Naveen Patnaik appoints former law minister as OLIC chairman

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today appointed former law minister Raghunath Mohanty as the chairman of Odisha Lift Irrigation Corporation (OLIC).
Mohanty, who was sacked in 2013 following allegation of dowry torture levelled by his daughter-in-law, has been accorded the rank of a cabinet minister, an official communication from the chief minister's office said.

Earlier, in March this year, Patnaik had appointed Mohanty as the party's vice-president and observer for Dhenkanal district.

Mohanty, the senior BJD leader and five-time MLA was removed from the post and suspended from the BJD in March 2013 after he was arrested in a dowry torture case slapped by his daughter-in-law.

He returned to the ruling party in June last year.

His daughter-in-law has withdrawn all charges against Mohanty and his family.