Bhubaneswar:31/12/2024
DETECTION
200 CRIMINAL CASES REGISTERED; 181 GOVT. OFFICERS AND OTHERS ARRESTED. CASES REGISTERED AGAINST 50 CLASS-I OFFICERS INCLUDING 6 CHIEF
ENGINEERS, JOINT COMMISSIONER EXCISE, DY. DIRECTOR FISHERIES, 2 ASST. COMMISSIONERS CT&GST, A JAIL SUPERINTENDANT, 1 SUB-COLLECTOR, 2 TAHASILDARS, 2 BDOs, 3 CSOs, 1 FA & CAO, AND OTHERS. 19 ENGINEERS, 22 REVENUE OFFICIALS, 20 PR & DW OFFICIALS, 9 POLICE
OFFICERS, 5 DOCTORS, 3 FOREST OFFICIALS, 3 ICDS FUNCTIONARIES, ETC. ARRESTED. 60 DA CASES REGISTERED; DISPROPORTIONATE ASSETS (DA) WORTH OVER RS.131 CRORES UNEARTHED. 96 TRAP CASES REGISTERED; 115 PERSONS INCLUDING 99 GOVT. OFFICERS
TRAPPED WHILE DEMANDING AND TAKING BRIBE WORTH RS.19.25 LAKHS. INVESTIGATION SEARCHES AT OVER 483 LOCATIONS CARRIED OUT IN TRAP/DA CASES. 792 BANK ACCOUNTS OF CORRUPT PUBLIC SERVANTS FREEZED.
194 BUILDINGS/PROJECTS IN 72 VALUATION CASES WORTH APPROX RS.27.03 CRORES EVALUATED. 38 SPOUSES MADE CO-ACCUSED IN 60 DA CASES. INVESTIGATIONS COMPLETED IN 307 CASES AT A DISPOSAL RATE OF 154% OF REGISTRATION. PROSECUTION 105 CONVICTIONS IN 2024; PERCENTAGE OF CONVICTION COMES TO 50%. 80% CONVICTION RATE IN DA CASES. 25 GOVT. FUNCTIONARIES DISMISSED FROM SERVICE FOLLOWING THEIR CONVICTION. OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS VIGILANCE CLEARANCE FOR 40,168 PUBLIC SERVANTS ISSUED. 862 ALL INDIA SERVICE & STATE GOVT. OFFICERS TRAINED AT STATE VIGILANCE ACADEMY IN 2024.
Registration of cases:
In the year 2024, Odisha Vigilance registered 200 cases against 308 persons including 50 Class-I officers, 36 Class-II officers, 131 Class-III employees, 1 Class-IV employees, 18 other public servants and 72 private persons. The 200 cases included 60 Disproportionate Assets (DA) cases, 96 Trap cases and rest other Corruption cases.
Disproportionate Assets (DA) cases:
Out of 200 cases registered in 2024, 60 cases were instituted for acquisition of disproportionate assets against 66 public servants and 36 private persons. The total disproportionate assets in all the 60 cases crossed over Rs.131 Crores. 29 DA cases were registered against Class-I officers and 15 DA cases were registered against Class-II officers.
Major DA cases based on DA amount: 1) Sri Pradeep Kumar Rath, Addl. Chief Engineer, Odisha Bridge and Construction
Corporation, Odisha, Cuttack Rs.10,37,09,370/-. 2) Sri Basanta Kumar Mohapatra, RTO, Boudh Rs.9,61,77,489/-. 3) Sri Prasanna Kumar Swain, Asst. Engineer (Civil) Irrigation Division, Bhanjanagar, Dist-Ganjam Rs.8,11,38,614/-. 4) Sri Tara Prasad Mishra, Former Chief Engineer (Retd), Roads & Building (Civil), Odisha, Bhubaneswar Rs.7,27,49,215/-. 5) Sri Pravas Kumar Pradhan, Superintending Engineer, Irrigation Division, Balasore Rs.6,30,14,939/-. 6) Sri Sunil Kumar Rout, Chief Construction Engineer, Lower Suktel Irrigation
Project, Bolangir Rs.5,79,65,847/-. 7) Sri Bijay Kumar Udaysingh, Junior Manager (Civil), IDCO, Bhubaneswar – Rs.5,30,72,718/-. 8) Sri Subash Chandra Panda, Deputy General Manager (Civil), Odisha Police Housing Welfare Corporation, Berhampur Division – Rs.5,25,72,766/- 9) Sri Dharanidhar Nayak, Deputy Director of Mines, Talcher, Dist-Angul Rs.4,78,83,971/-. 10) Sri N. V. Harihara Rao, Chief Engineer, O/o Chief Construction Engineer, Rural Works, Balasore Circle DA to the tune of Rs.4,07,20,782/-. Spouses as Co-Accused: 38 Spouses were also brought in the ambit of investigations as co accused in DA cases.
Interception cases: This year, 5 persons including 1 Class-I Officer, 2 Class-II officers, 1 Class-III employee & 1 other public servant were intercepted while carrying unaccounted cash of Rs.24,90,150/- (Rupees Twenty-four Lakhs Ninety Thousand One Hundred Fifty). The major interception cases were; 1. Sri Jitendra Kumar Behera, Inspector of Traffic, office of RTO, Talcher, Dist- Angul Rs.11,19,150/-. 2. Smt. Akhyamita Kartik, OAS, BDO of Golamunda Block, Dist-Kalahandi Rs.5,40,000/- 3. Sri Dinesh Kumar Rout, Sarapanch of Brundabahal GP under Golamunda Block, Dist-Kalahandi Rs.5,40,000/-.
Trap Cases:
96 trap cases were instituted during the year against 115 persons including 13 Class-I officers, 14 Class-II officers, 71 Class-III employees, 1 Class-IV employee, 6 other public servants and 10 private persons for demanding and taking bribe amounting to Rs.19.25 Lakhs. Some of the major Trap cases are as follows; 1. On 11.09.2024, Sri Rambhav Gattu, Chief Manufacturing Officer (East), Ambuja Cement, Chhatisgarh was arrested by Odisha Vigilancewhile trying to bribe Rs. 2 lakhs concealed in a sweet packet to Collector, Bargarh. 2. On 05.07.2024, Sri Bichitrananda Nayak, Tahasildar, ChandrapurTahasil, Dist-Rayagada was nabbed for illegal collection of cash of Rs.1,15,000/-, as 1st instalment from villagers of Chandrapur area with false promise for issuance of RoR (Land Patta) in their favour under Forest Rights Act. 3. On 26.11.2024, Sri Nalini Ranjan Bhuiyan, Principal of Dadhibaman Jew +3 Mahavidyalaya, Bahadajhola, Dist-Nayagarh was nabbed for illegal collection of cash of Rs.1,00,000/-, from a staffer for release of his outstanding arrear salary over Rs.5 Lakhs. 4. On 12.07.2024, Sri G. Prabhakara Patro, Chief Civil Supplies Officer, Bolangir was nabbed while taking bribe of Rs.50,000/- for clearing pending bills and to place new supply order. 5. On 24.07.2024, Sri Sujeet Kumar Padhy, Assistant Executive Engineer, Rural Works Sub-Division, Patnagarh, Dist-Bolangir was nabbed while taking bribe of Rs.50,000/- for facilitating release of final bill towards Govt. work. 6. On 30.07.2024, Smt. Nibedita Mohanty, Asst. Engineer, Jatni Block, Dist-Khordha was trapped while taking bribe of Rs.50,000/-for clearing pending bill towards construction of Govt. work under Jatni Block. 7. On 20.03.2024, Smt. Sangeeta Mohapatra, AE, Khurdha Block Office, Dist-Khurdha was trapped while taking bribe of Rs.50,000/-from a Contractor for passing final bills and release of payment in connection with completion of Cement Concrete Road work by the Contractor. 8. On 03.05.2024, Sri Rabindra Patra, Asst. Executive Engineer, RWS&S, Sub-Division, Jharsuguda was trapped while taking bribe of Rs.50,000/- from a Contractor for facilitating release of his pending bills related to works executed by him. 9. On 07.10.2024, Sri Jitendra Kumar Padhy, Executive Engineer, Tel Irrigation Division, Subarnapur was trapped while taking bribe of Rs.46,000/- from a Contractor for clearing his pending bills. 10. On 08.11.2024, Dr. Biswajit Bhuyan, Medical Officer, In-Charge of CHC, Boipariguda, Dist-Koraput was trapped while taking bribe of Rs.40,000/-from a CHC staffer for release of her arrear salary 11. On 02.07.2024, Sri Dhobei Nayak, Tahasildar, Khandapara, Dist- Nayagarh and his associate Sri Prasanna Kumar Sahoo (Muharir – Private Person) were nabbed for demand and acceptance of bribe of Rs.20,000/- from a complainant to release his detained morrum laden Hyva truck. Sri Sahoo was acting as an agent for collection of bribes on behalf of Sri Nayak, Tahasildar.
Misappropriation cases:
During the year, 44 misappropriation cases relating to misappropriation of public money were registered against 91 persons, including 65 public servants and 26 private persons, involving misappropriation of public funds amounting to about Rs.14.87 Crores. Misappropriation cases were registered against 8 Class-I officers, 7 Class-II officers, 41 Class-III employees, 9 other public servants and 26 private persons. Some of the major cases in this category are as follows; 1. Ranjita Tripathy, Ex-Joint Commissioner, CT&GST, A/p-FA & Addl. Secy. Still & Mines, Kalyani Mallick, Ex-Joint Commissioner, CT&GST, A/p-FAcum- Addl. Secy. Forest Environment & Climate Change, Sanjukta Gantayat, Ex-Addl. Commissioner, Appeal (Retd), Sri Abinash Pradhan, Staffer, CT&GST, Bhubaneswar, A/p-ACTO, Jeypore along with two businessmen. Misappropriation of Govt. money by illegal refund of VAT amounting to Rs.4,03,09,723/- by tampering financial instruments and entertaining statutory forms containing forged signatures andseals. 2. Sri Banamali Kar, Junior Revenue Assistant, office of Sub-Registrar, BissamKatak, Rayagada was arrested for misappropriation of Govt. funds to the tune of Rs.1.40 Crores towards registration fees, userfees & other Govt. revenue. 3. Sri Parikhita Jena, OAS, Former BDO, Suliapada, Mayurbhanj was arrested for misappropriation of Govt. (Odisha Mineral Bearing Area Development Corporation funds) money to the tune of over Rs.1.19Crore of without executing developmental works in the Suliapada Block area during the financial years 2021-22 and 2022-23. 4. Sri Basanta Kumar Dash, Dy. Director of Fisheries (Brackish Water), office of Directorate of Fisheries, Odisha, Cuttack-Misappropriation of Govt. funds to the tune of Rs.1.05 Crore by transferring money from Govt. account to his personal Bank Account during the financial year 2024-25. 5. Sri Binay Bhusan Tripathy, Ex-Asst. Commissioner, CT & GST Enforcement Unit, Jajpur Road, Jajpur was arrested along with 2 associates for bribery, evasion of taxes, and misappropriation by nonrealization of due tax/ realization of less than applicable tax, in lieu of bribes from various transporters/suppliers, by flouting rules and norms of GST. 6. Sri Manoj Kumar Tandi, Ex-E.O, Jharsuguda Municipality, Jharsuguda and 3 others were arrested for misappropriation of Government money to the tune of Rs.61,44,600/- towards purchase of P.H. Sanitization materials (Mosquito Larvicidal Oil) during the year 2022-23 and 2023-24 by way of excess payment and violating Financial Rules & guidelines of procurement.
Arrest:
During this period, 181 persons were arrested, which included 37 Class-I officers, 27 Class-II officers, 85 Class-III employees, 1 Class-IV employee, 10 other public servants and 21 private persons. Among those arrested, include 19 Engineers of which 6 are Chief Engineers of different departments, 22 Revenue officers / officials, 20 PR & DW officers / officials, 9 Police officers, 5 Doctors, 3 Forest officers / officials and 3 ICDS functionaries.
INVESTIGATION
During investigation, searches at over 483 locations were carried out by Odisha Vigilance against 171 corrupt public servants involved in Trap/DA cases. Also 792 Bank accounts of corrupt public servants were freezed by Odisha Vigilance. Further, 194 buildings in 72 valuation cases worth approx Rs.27.03 Crores were evaluated by the Technical Wing of Odisha Vigilance.
DISPOSAL:
During last 2 years, high priority has been placed on completion of investigation of cases along with detection. Last year (2023) the disposal rate was 153% which was the highest in a decade. In the year 2024, Odisha Vigilance has further improved achieving a disposal rate of 154%. In total, 307 cases were disposed off after investigation. This disposal rate was the highest in a decade as revealed in the table below: Year Percentage of disposal. 2015 98% , 2016 65%, 2017 67%, 2018 54%, 2019 50% , 2020 66%, 2021 95% , 2022 122%, 2023 153% , 2024 154%
Submission of Charge Sheet:
In 2024, 307 cases were disposed off after investigation, out of which, charge sheets have been placed in 256 cases against 563 persons including 54 Class- I officers, 52 Class-II officers, 214 Class-III employees, 16 Class-IV employees, 32 other public servants and 195 private persons. The percentage of Charge Sheet comes to 83% of the cases disposed off after investigation.
PROSECUTION
As far as prosecution is concerned, we had 105 convictions in 2024 at 50% conviction rate. Further, conviction in DA cases stood at 80%. Of the 105 convictions, 18 were Class-I officers, 18 Class-II officers, 74 Class-III employees, 6 Class-IV employees, 16 other public servants and 15 private persons. Thus, altogether 147 accused persons were convicted during the period. Odisha Vigilance has taken a number of steps to strengthen prosecution. Trials in 22 Vigilance Courts are being closely monitored on a daily basis by the Vigilance Directorate. Witness testimony are being conducted through video conferencing to expedite trial as well as to save time. Odisha Vigilance has appointed expert Legal Advisors for each Vigilance Divisions as per the sanction of Govt. for enhancement of the quality of evidence gathered during investigation, and evidence tendered during trial.
Some of the major Convictions are as follows;
1. Sri Vinod Kumar, IAS, Ex-M.D, ORHDC along with others was convicted in 3 Vigilance cases on 25.01.2024, 15.03.2024& 24.12.2024. So far Sri Vinod Kumar, IAS has been convicted in 10 cases investigated by Odisha Vigilance. 2. Dr. Karunakar Rout, Ex-Medical Officer, I/c Madhuban CHC, Dist- Jajpur was convicted in a Trap case on 16.01.2024. 3. Sri Ramesh Chandra Sahoo, OAS-I, Ex-BDO, Naraynapatna Block, Dist-Koraput (Retired) was convicted in a Corruption case on 21.03.2024. 4. Sri Narahari Panda, Ex-Executive Engineer (Retired), Brahmani, Subarnarekha, Baitarani Basin, Laxmiposi, Baripada, Dist-Mayurbhanj was convicted in a Disproportionate Assets (DA) case on 03.06.2024. 5. Sri Prafulla Kumar Sahu, Ex-RTO (Retired), Bhawanipatna was convicted in a Disproportionate Assets (DA) case on 29.07.2024.
DISMISSAL FROM SERVICE:
In 2024, 25 public servants i.e. 3 Class-I Officers, 3 Class-II Officers and 19 Class-III employees were dismissed from Govt. service following their conviction in Vigilance cases. Major dismissals are as under; 1. Sri Sachitananda Behera, Asst. Engineer, O/o District Agriculture Officer, Banki, Dist-Cuttack dismissed from service on 03.01.2024. 2. Sri Kailash Chandra Behera, Ex-Tahasildar, Rourkela, A/p-BDO, Ersama, Dist-Jagatsinghpur dismissed from service on 07.02.2024. 3. Sri Jitendra Kumar Behera, Inspector of Traffic, office of RTO, Talcher, Dist-Angul dismissed from service on 15.03.2024. 4. Sri Ranjan Kishore Behera, District Labour Officer, Dist-Kandhamal dismissed from service on 16.03.2024. 5. Sri Sankarsan Behera, Asst. Executive Engineer, Akhuapada Irrigation Sub-Division, Bhandaripokhori, Dist-Bhadrak dismissed from service on 08.05.2024. 6. Smt. Suprava Mohapatra, Ex-CDPO, Saintala, Dist-Bolangir, A/p- CDPO, Muribahal, Dist- Bolangir dismissed from service on 31.07.2024.
STOPPAGE OF PENSION:
During this period, the pension of 65 retired public servants i.e. 11 Class-I Officers, 11 Class-II officers, 42 Class-III employees and 1 Class-IV employee have been stopped, consequent upon their conviction in Vigilance cases.
LOKAYUKTA MATTERS:
Lokayukta for enquiry and submitted 5 numbers of enquiry reports after thorough enquiries.
VIGILANCE CLEARANCE:
During this period, Vigilance clearance in respect of 40,168 public servants were issued in response to 5,346 letters received from Govt./Heads of the Departments/District Offices/Public Sector Undertakings of Odisha for the purpose of Promotion/VRS/Pension/RACP/MACP/Passport etc.
FOREST WING:
During this period, the Forest Wing of Odisha Vigilance conducted 101joint raids and seized timber, machineries and vehicles worth over Rs.4.82 Crore. Inthis connection, forest offence cases have been initiated against 39 persons. This apart, Forest Wing of Odisha Vigilance conducted a surprise raid in Rayagada town area and detected a wild life case and seized two Leopard skins.
STATE VIGILANCE ACADEMY (SVA):
In the year 2024, 862 number of trainees from various cadres of All India Services & State Services i.e. IAS, IPS, OPS, OFS, CVOs, OT&AS, ALOs, as well as officers of Vigilance were trained on Anti-Corruption Laws, Preventive Vigilance and good governance. The State Vigilance Academy has turned into a repository of knowledge in the field of anti-corruption, transparency and good governance.
PORTAL / TOLL FREE (1064)
During this period, Odisha Vigilance received 1,897 calls through Toll Free number 1064 & 86 calls through dedicated Telephone number 0671-2305988. This apart, 650 petitions were received through Odisha Vigilance Website http://odishavigilance.gov.in & 102 Janasunani portal. Based on above calls and petitions received, Vigilance officials took prompt action and succeeded in nabbing a number of accused persons involved in corrupt practices.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ACHIEVEMENT OF ODISHA VIGILANCE OVER LAST 6 MONTHS.
1) 6 Chief Engineer rank officers have been booked by Odisha Vigilance for possession of huge disproportionate assets. The assets recovered from them are as follows: i) 229 plots at prime locations of Bhubaneswar and other district headquarters. ii) 32 buildings / flats at Bhubaneswar and district headquarters and outside Odisha. iii) Gold weighing around 6 kg. iv) Deposits worth Rs.13 crores. v) Cash recovered over Rs.66.50 lakhs. 2) The total disproportionate assets in all the 60 cases crossed over Rs.131 Crores, whereas in the year, 2023 the total disproportionate assets in all the 85 cases was around Rs.124 Crores. This apart, a Joint Commissioner of Excise, an Assistant Commissioner of CT GST, 1 Deputy Director of Mines, the Deputy Director of Fisheries Dept, DGM, Eng. (Civil), OSPHWC, Berhampur Division, Jr. Manager (Civil), IDCO, BBSR, Asst. Commercial Tax Officer, CT & GST, 3CSOs, 1 Sub- Collector, 2 Tahsildars, 2 BDOs, Financial Advisor & Chief Accounts Officer, OSRTC, BBSR, an Asst. Conservator of Forests, a Forest Range Officer, 9 Police Officials, and 1 Jail Superintendent have been arrested by Odisha Vigilance during the above period for possession of disproportionate assets or involvement in bribery/misappropriation of government funds.
THE ROAD AHEAD
Going forward, Odisha Vigilance is committed to take strong actions against corrupt practices with focus on higher ranks. It aims to further infuse technology and expand the multidisciplinary character by roping in more professionals with domain expertise. Effective detection of accumulated assets, both physical and digital, be it land, buildings, currency, deposits or even benami transactions, investments in newer financial instruments like crypto currencies, etc. shall remain the priority of Odisha Vigilance. Further, Odisha Vigilance is
going to strengthen Prosecution Wing by inducting more cadre Public Prosecutors. For strengthening the supervision and investigation of Vigilance cases, more number of Addl. SPs, DSPs & Sub-Inspectors will be inducted. Very soon, a Forensic Science Laboratory is going to be setup to cater exclusively to the requirements of Odisha Vigilance. To expedite enquiries & investigations, 153Laptops/Desktops will be provided to the investigating officers. Moreover, to reach every nook and corner of the State for collection of intelligence and for increasing the mobility of the Vigilance Officers, 137 No. of Motor cycles will also be provided.
