Cuttack: Following allegations by a woman that her gold ornaments were not returned by the jail authorities after her release from judicial custody, the superintendent of Choudwar jail on Tuesday handed over Rs 1.9 lakh in cash to her, she said.Itishree Mohanty (32) of Sukleswar village under Mahanga police limits had alleged that after being lodged in Choudwar jail on Sept 23, 2025, she deposited her gold ornaments — a pair of 6-gram earrings, an 8-gram ring and a nose pin — with jail authorities. She was released on Dec 23, 2025.According to her complaint, when she sought the return of her belongings after release, jail authorities allegedly told her that no gold ornaments were recorded in her name. Mohanty claimed that despite repeated follow-ups, the items were neither traced nor returned, prompting her to lodge an FIR on Feb 8.Based on her written report, Mahanga police registered a case and assigned sub-inspector Sidharth Ranjan to investigate. The probe includes verification of jail property registers and related records.On Tuesday, jail superintendent Sujit Kumar Raula handed over Rs 1.9 lakh in cash to Mohanty. It is yet to be confirmed whether the sum corresponds to the assessed value of the missing ornaments. “I had to run from pillar to post for nearly two months after my release. After much struggle and repeated requests, I finally got money instead of my gold,” Mohanty said.Police officials said the investigation remains underway. “We are verifying all aspects of the complaint as well as subsequent developments,” an officer said. Raula was not available for comment.
