BHAWANIPATNA/KHARIAR : The Deputy Labour Commissioner of Kalahandi, Dinabandhu Adhikari, was arrested by Vigilance sleuths on Thursday while allegedly accepting a bribe of `20,000 from a person to release funds.
The errant officer was caught red-handed while taking `20,000 from Madhusudan Dora, a resident of Champadeipur village in the district, to release the workman’s compensation amount of `8.31 lakh that was released in the name of his deceased brother, Sarat Dora, who had died in an accident while working in Fish & Oil Company, Mumbai, in May, 2016.
The owner of the factory had paid compensation of `8,31,920 through the Deputy Labour Commissioner to the parents of the deceased. Of this amount, `1,31,000 was kept in the savings bank account of Sarat’s father, Ramdash Dora, and the rest amount was converted into two fixed deposit bonds in the name of Ramdash and his wife.
The fixed deposit bonds were kept in the custody of Adhikari, who had demanded the bribe to hand over the bonds and allow Ramdash to withdraw money from the savings account. Harassed, brother of the deceased, Madhusudan, informed the Vigilance sleuths, who laid a trap and caught him red-handed.
The accused has been arrested. His government quarters at Bhawanipatna and residence in Bhubaneswar are being searched.
Raid on Khariar DFO
The Vigilance on Thursday conducted raids on the house and office of Khariar Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sarat Chandra Panda on charges of amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The sleuths raided Panda’s residence in the Capital and office at Khariar in Nuapada district. Vigilance sources said as bank deposits of `4 crore in the name of Panda and some of his relatives were traced, the anti-corruption agency decided to launch a probe and ascertain the source of the money.
Vigilance had received information about the Income Tax Department raids on Panda on Wednesday following which a search warrant was secured from the court, a senior official said.
While the list of movable and immovable property, including fixed deposits, vehicles, plots and household articles of the DFO has been prepared, the valuation is yet to be completed, the official added.
Earlier, the IT Department had raided the house of the DFO after tracing undisclosed property worth more than `3.5 crore.