Bhubaneswar: The year 2023 was very successful for the Odisha Vigilance department. The department registered 265 during the year, arrested 166 officers, and registered 85 cases of disproportionate assets (DA) worth Rs 124 crore were seized.
The Vigilance Department arrested 98 people, including 109 government officials, for taking bribes. A maximum of Rs 12 lakh was seized while taking bribes in a benami cheque.
This year, 58 Class-I officers were prosecuted, while 26 Class-I and 32 Class-II officers were arrested. Similarly, 85 Class-III and 6 Class-IV employees were arrested. Vigilance conducted search operations at 478 places seized and closed 684 bank accounts of corrupt officials. Thirty-six couples are co-accused in 85 cases related to evasion of wealth.
Investigation into 406 cases has been completed at a rate of 153 per cent breaking a 10-year record in completing investigation of the cases. In 124 there was conviction – a 50 per cent rise from the previous year. The conviction rate for evasion is 66 per cent. Vigilance clearance has been obtained for 41,044 government employees.
