SAMBALPUR: Celebrated as the topper of Odisha Civil Services Examination in 2019, Aswini Kumar Panda’s career has taken vicious turn in flat six years. On Friday, the 29-year-old tehsildar of Bamra in Sambalpur district, who had once vowed to dedicate himself to public service, was arrested for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 15,000 to convert kisam of a land in a mutation case.
Vigilance officials who arrested Panda said, the state administrative officer had first asked the complainant for Rs 20,000 to approve the conversion of land kisam from agriculture to homestead and issue the record of rights (RoR). When the complainant said he could not afford Rs 20,000, Panda climbed down to Rs 15,000 but with a warning that the case would not be cleared otherwise.
The complainant reported the matter to the Vigilance which laid a trap. Panda was caught in his office receiving the money through his driver, P Praveen Kumar. The full bribe amount was recovered from them. Following a raid at his office, searches were also carried out at Panda’s official and residential premises in Sambalpur and Bhubaneswar.
The anti-corruption team seized Rs 4.73 lakh in cash from his Bhubaneswar home. Both Panda and his driver were arrested and produced before a court.
A case under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, has been registered and investigation is underway.
Panda’s arrest has come as a shock because his journey had once inspired many. An engineering graduate from Khetrapal village in Jajpur district, he had failed to clear the assistant section officer exam in 2018 only by half a mark. The next year, he cleared the state civil services exam in his very first attempt without any coaching and topped the list.
At the time of his success, Panda had spoken of his big dreams. “My aim is to work for the overall development of the region and its people where I am posted. I am personally inclined towards education, health and women’s empowerment. I will try my best to deliver services to the lowest strata of the society,” he had said after the results were announced.
He joined service in 2021 as a training reserve officer in Balasore, later worked as tehsildar in Mayurbhanj’s Shamakhunta in June 2023 before being transferred to Bamra in July. But within three months of his new posting, his bright career has come under clouds of corruption.