BHUBANESWAR : The Vigilance on Monday arrested IAS officer and Dharamgarh sub-collector Dhiman Chakma for allegedly accepting Rs 10 lakh bribe from a crusher unit owner for not taking any coercive action against his business.
He was produced before the Special Judge Vigilance court in Bhawanipatna and has been remanded in judicial custody till June 22. Vigilance Cell in Cuttack had registered a case against Chakma under section 7 of Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act on June 3 after the unit owner alleged he was demanding a total of Rs 20 lakh bribe from him.
The IAS officer had visited Bhubaneswar to attend a two-day state-level workshop of revenue officers at Lok Seva Bhawan here on Wednesday and Thursday. After returning, Chakma allegedly asked the businessman to hand him over Rs 10 lakh as the first installment at his government quarters on Sunday evening.
Being informed, the Vigilance team carried out a raid at his residence and seized the bribe money from his possession. During searches, the anti-corruption agency’s officers seized an additional Rs 47 lakh cash from his quarters. “A total of Rs 57 lakh cash was seized from him and a thorough investigation is underway to ascertain the source through which he received such huge amount of money,” said Vigilance sources.
A native of Tripura’s Kanchanpur, Chakma had joined as Dharamgarh sub-collector in January 2024, which was his first posting after clearing IAS. He had earlier cleared allied services as IFS officer, Odisha cadre, and posted as assistant conservator of forests (ACF) at Baripada in Mayurbhanj district in June, 2021.
Meanwhile, Kalahandi collector Sachin Pawar said they will look into the allegations against Chakma after receiving a report from the Vigilance.