Bhubaneswar: A special court in Bolangir has convicted a former Junior Accountant-cum-Lease Clerk of the Office of the Divisional Forest Officer (Territorial), Balangir, Kalandi Charan Bhuyan, for accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000.
The court sentenced Bhuyan to three years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000.
The case dates back to June 27, 2019, when Odisha Vigilance registered a case against Bhuyan under the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, for demanding and accepting a bribe from a complainant in exchange for permission to cut exempted trees on farmers’ recorded lands and shifting those trees for sawing.
Following the conviction, Odisha Vigilance will move the competent authority to stop Bhuyan’s pension.