BHUBANESWAR: The State Government on Thursday gave compulsory retirement to three more senior officials, a divisional forest officer (DFO) and two engineers, in line with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s policy of ‘zero tolerance’ towards corruption.
The State Vigilance had booked Odisha Forest Service (OFS) officer Sudhanshu Sekhar Mishra in 2016 when he was posted as Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) at Athgarh for acquiring assets disproportionate to income in his name and in the name of family members to the tune of Rs 5.5 crore.
More than Rs one crore was seized during search of his house. The cash seized during the raid was the highest from any Government servant in Odisha. Besides, he had deposited Rs 3.46 crore in bank accounts and shares. He was placed under suspension by the State Government on February 25, 2016.
Prana Krushna Prasad, Executive Engineer at Angul Rural Works Quality Control Division is involved in two Vigilance cases of trap relating to demand and acceptance of illegal gratification. According to an official release, Prasad was caught twice while taking bribe, first time in 2015 as per a Vigilance case filed at Cuttack and second time in 2018 as per the case filed at Bhubaneswar. Stating that he is one of the inefficient and corrupt officers in Rural Works department, the release said he has been habitually indulging in corrupt practices. Umesh Kumar Tripathy, Deputy Executive Engineer, at present working in Tusra in Sonepur (R&B) Division under Works Department is involved in four Vigilance cases.
Three cases were filed against him while he was working at Koraput on charge of showing undue official favour to a contractor and misappropriation of Government money by recording inflated measurements.
The Government had given compulsory retirement to four officials and dismissed one Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) cadre officer on corruption charges on October 4. The OAS officer was posted as Tehsildar at Kaptipada in Mayurbhanj district.
The four officials given premature retirement are Dilip Kumar Nag, deputy commissioner of excise; Basant Kumar Behera, regional transport officer; Sarat Chandra Panda, deputy conservator of forest and Ashok Kumar Majhi, assistant civil supplies officer. The Vigilance wing of Odisha Police has already registered cases against all the five officers under Prevention of Corruption Act.
Corrupt employees
OFS officer Sudhanshu Sekhar Mishra booked in 2016
Property estimated `5.5 crore, suspended
Executive Engineer Prana Krushna Prasad involved in two Vig cases
Trapped taking bribe in 2015 and 2018
Deputy Executive Engineer Umesh Kumar Tripathy involved in four Vig cases
Charged on showing undue favour to a contractor