A social education officer in Orissa's Bolangir district has been suspended after he took an unauthorised leave to participate in the game show Kaun Banega Crorepati.

Madanjit Hota, a panchayat officer at Loisingha, was not sanctioned leave in view of the ongoing panchayat elections in the state, officials said. But Hota did not turn up for work on February 11, the sources said.

District Collector R S Gopalan, who came to know about the matter on Tuesday, placed Hota under suspension, they said.

Hota was among 10 contestants from across the country who were invited for one of the episodes of the programme.