Bhubaneswar: During 2021 Odisha Vigilance was successful in registering 267 criminal cases against 475 persons including 46 Class-I officers, 40 Class-II officers, 231 Class-III employees, 4 Class-IV employees, 58 other public servants and 96 private persons.
This was higher than the registration of 245 cases in 2020, the annual report of the anti-corruption agency stated. Below are the details shared by the Vigilance on Wednesday.
Disproportionate Assets (DA) cases:
Out of 267 cases registered in 2021, 92 cases were instituted for acquisition of disproportionate assets against 111 public servants and 44 private persons. The total disproportionate assets in all the 92 cases stand at Rs.107.60 crore. 12 DA cases were registered against Class-I officers and 17 DA cases were registered against Class-II officers.
1) This year, DA case involving the highest ever DA amount of Rs. 14,88,91,194 was registered against Pratap Kumar Samal, Deputy Manager, Odisha Police Housing & Welfare Corporation (OPHWC), Bhubaneswar.
Other major cases in terms of DA amount are detailed below:
2) Prasanna Kumar Behera, Ex-Constable, Police Commissionerate, BhubaneswarCuttack – Rs.6,97,15,057.
3) Biranchi Narayan Sahoo, PS to Member, OSSC, Bhubaneswar – Rs.3,51,51,921.
4) Kabita Mathan, Anganwadi Worker, Koradakanta Centre, Bhubaneswar – Rs.2,96,39,475.
5) Santosh Kumar Das, Asst. Engineer, ITDA, Baripada – Rs.2,80,56,864.
Interception cases:
This year, 15 Govt. officers (8 Class-I, 4 Class-II officers & 3 Class-III employees) were intercepted while carrying unaccounted cash of Rs.58,84,525
The major interception cases are as follows:
1. Jayaprakash Mohanty, District Manager, Tribal Development Co-Operative Corporation Ltd.(TDCC), Sundargarh – Rs.18,80,500
2. Bidhan Chandra Sahu, S.E., Baitarini Irrigation Division, Salapada, Keonjhar – Rs.10,07,620
3. Rama Chandra Jena, Tahasildar-cum-Sub-Regiatrar, Nimapara, Puri – Rs.4,65,000
4. Pravat Samantray, BDO, Bijepur, Bargarh – Rs.3,50,000
5. Susanta Kumar Sahoo, IIC, Motu PS, Malkangiri – Rs.2,80,000
Trap Cases:
98 trap cases were instituted during the year against 107 public servants and 2 private persons including 15 Class-I officers, 13 Class-II officers, 68 Class-III employees, 4 Class-IV employees, 5 other public servants and 2 private persons for demand and acceptance of bribe amounting to Rs.20.13 Lakhs. Out of these 98 cases, in 1 case, the amount of demanded money is Rs.1.5 lakhs, in 4 cases, the amount is more
than Rs.1 Lakh and in 5 cases, the amount is more than 50 Thousand.
Major cash seizures:
1. Santosh Kumar Das, Asst. Engineer, ITDA, Baripada- Rs.41,77,000
2. Pratap Kumar Samal, Dy. Manager, OPHWC, Bhubaneswar-Rs.38,12,900
3. Narottam Behera, RO, State Pollution Control Board, BalasoreRs.16,50,013
4. Ashutosh Mishra, Spl. PP, Bhawanipatna. Rs.15,60,140
5. Basanta Kumar Pani, Head Clerk, O/o PA, ITDA, Baliguda, Dist-Kandhamal – Rs.13,25,000
6. Biranchi Narayan Sahoo, PS to Member, Odisha Staff Selection Commission (OSSC), Bhubaneswar – Rs.12,46,492
7. Bidhan Chandra Sahu, S.E., Irrigation, Baitarani Division, Salapada, KeonjharRs.10,07,620
Misappropriation cases:
During the year, 77 misappropriation cases relating to misappropriation of public money were registered against 213 persons, including 163 public servants and 50 private persons, involving misappropriation of public funds amounting to about Rs.8.32 Crores. Misappropriation cases were registered against 19 Class-I officers, 10 Class-II officers, 97 Class-III employees, 37 other public servants and 50 private persons.
Submission of Charge Sheet:
During this period, 254 cases were disposed off after investigation, out of which, charge sheets were placed in 244 cases against 551 persons including 54 ClassI officers, 59 Class-II officers, 184 Class-III employees, 9 Class-IV employees, 13 other private persons and 232 private persons. The percentage of Charge Sheet comes to 96%.
Arrest:
During this period, 175 persons were arrested, which included 23 Class-I officers, 28 Class-II officers, 104 Class-III employees, 2 Class-IV employee, 4 other public servants and 14 private persons.
Dismissal from service:
During this period, 6 Class-III employees were dismissed from Govt. service following their conviction in Vigilance cases.
Compulsory Retirement:
During the year, a significant number of officers have been given compulsory retirement by the Government on corruption charges in pursuance of the policy of zero tolerance to corruption. Some of the notable names include;
Ram Chandra Jena, OAS, Ex-Tahasildar-cum-Sub-Registrar, Nimapara, Puri
Gourang Charan Mohanty, OAS, Ex-Deputy Collector, Jagatsinghpur.
Alphonus Bilung, OAS, Ex-BDO, Ambabhana, Bargarh.
Bidhan Chandra Sahu, Ex-SE, Baitarini Irrigation Division, Salapada, Keonjhar.
Meena Patra, Ex-CDPO, Biswanathpur, Lanjigarh Block, Kalahandi.
Puspanjali Rath, Ex-CDPO, Th. Rampur, Kalahandi.
Ajit Kumar Mohapatra, Ex-Deputy Superintendent of Excise, Deogarh.
Pravakar Pradhan, Ex-Cashier, Tihidi Block, Dist-Bhadrak.
Pratap Kumar Samal, Ex-Dy. Manager, OPHWC, Bhubaneswar.
Narottam Behera, Ex-Regional Officer, State Pollution Control Board, Balasore
