BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Lokayukta on Friday cleared senior IAS officer Bishnupada Sethi of charges levelled against him for wrongful reimbursement of medical bills from Odisha State Cooperative Bank (OSCB) when he was its management-in-charge from 2013 to 2015.
Lokayukta Chairperson Justice Ajit Singh closed the case against Sethi, now the Principal Secretary of Revenue and Disaster Management department, citing that there was no good ground to further dwell on the allegation filed by social activist Srikanta Pakal. “Despite the finding of the Director of Inquiry going in his favour, Sethi as a goodwill gesture has returned the entire amount of Rs 3.27 lakh in three cheques to the OSCB on June 25,” the order stated.
The Director of Inquiry found that the allegation of Sethi getting reimbursed Rs 9,46,071 was factually incorrect. He actually reimbursed Rs 3.27 lakh for the treatment of his father and wife which he is legally entitled to and he did so only after receiving permission from the State government for reimbursement from the OSCB funds, it added.
The anti-corruption ombudsman had asked the Director of Inquiry to make a preliminary investigation after Pakal filed a complaint in July 2019 accusing Sethi of misusing his power to reimburse the medical bills.