Bhubaneswar: A Special Vigilance Court in Dhenkanal on Monday convicted a retired Assistant Engineer in a disproportionate assets (DA) case registered by Odisha Vigilance.
The court of the Special Judge, Vigilance, Dhenkanal found Niranjan Panda, former Assistant Engineer of OECF (Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund), Jhiridamali, Kamakhya Nagar in Dhenkanal district, guilty under Sections 13(2) read with 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 for possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Following the conviction, the court sentenced Panda to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years and imposed a fine of ₹50,000. In default of payment of the fine, he would be required to undergo additional imprisonment as per court provisions.
Panda had earlier been charge-sheeted by Odisha Vigilance after an investigation established that he possessed disproportionate assets during his tenure as a public servant.
In a follow-up action, Odisha Vigilance has announced that it will move the competent authority for stoppage of pension benefits of the retired engineer in view of his conviction.
The conviction marks another significant development in the state’s continued crackdown on corruption and financial irregularities involving public officials.
