BHUBANESWAR: Vigilance officers on Thursday searched the residence of senior IAS officer Vinod Kumar in VIP Colony under Nayapalli police limits for the second consecutive day after a court issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him on Wednesday. Kumar continued to remain untraceable.After Kumar skipped the sentencing on July 3, the Special Vigilance Court had issued NBW against him basing on which a team of Vigilance officials searched his residence.
“Searches were conducted at Kumar’s residence on Thursday but he was not present there,” Vigilance Director Dr Debasis Panigrahi told The Express.Sources said the anti-corruption agency also searched the house of former accounts officer of Odisha Rural Housing and Development Corporation (ORHDC) Pradeep Kumar Rout, who was also convicted by the court in the case, and is absconding.
Kumar, who was accused of cheating during his tenure as Managing Director of ORHDC, was suspended when the corruption charges were slapped against him in 2001. Later, he was reinstated. Currently, he is Officer on Special Duty with Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) Department.
Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar, convicted Kumar, along with five others in the multi-crore ORHDC scam. The court found Kumar and five others guilty in connection with the 2001 scam which ran into crores of rupees. About 27 cases were registered against Kumar and other accused officials for carrying out a conspiracy with NGOs and builders by abusing their official positions.