By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: With Director YK Jethwa taking the lead, Odisha Vigilance registered a stellar performance in 2023.
During 2023, as many as 265 criminal cases registered while 85 DA cases worth over Rs 124 Crore also registered with 166 Government officers and others arrested. During 2023, as many as 98 trap cases registered , where 123 persons including 109 Government officers trapped while demanding and accepting bribe worth Rs 28.27 Lakhs.
2 cash seizer by Odisha Vigilance was 2nd and 3rd highest in the history of Vigilance done in 2023 while it seized Rs 12 Lakh unnamed cheque. 58 cases registered against Class-1 officers in 2023.
Vigilance conducted searches at over 478 locations throughout the year while it frozen 684 Bank accounts.
290 building projects in 95 valuation cases worth Rs 48.14 Crore evaluated during 2023. 36 spouse made co accused in 85 DA cases. Investigation completed in 406 cases at a disposal rate of 153%.
124 convicted in Vigilance cases in 2023. Vigilance issued clearances to 41,044 public servants 1,113 trained at Vigilance Academy.
Registration of cases:
In the year 2023, Odisha Vigilance registered 265 cases against 445 persons including 58 Class-I officers, 44 Class-II officers, 193 Class-III employees, 8 Class-IV employees, 57 other public servants and 85 private persons. The 265 cases included 85 Disproportionate Assets (DA) cases, 98 Trap cases and rest other Corruption cases. For last two consecutive years, Odisha Vigilance has detected and registered the highest number of DA cases in the country and this year too we are hopeful of a similar performance. The detection of DA cases against Class-I Officers during last 2 years have remained the highest in the last 5 years.
Disproportionate Assets (DA) cases: Out of 265 cases registered in 2023, 85 cases were instituted foracquisition of disproportionate assets against 89 public servants and 42 privatepersons. The total disproportionate assets in all the 85 cases crossed over Rs.124Crores. 37 DA cases were registered against Class-I officers and 19 DA cases wereregistered against Class-II officers. The top 2 cash recoveries in DA searches in2023 are respectively 2nd & 3rd highest in the history of Odisha Vigilance.The top 6 cash seizures in the history of Odisha Vigilance have happenedin the last 2 years.
1) Cash seizure of Rs 3,12,30,800/- during house searches against Sri Prasanta Kumar Rout, Addl. Sub-Collector, Nawarangpur, DistNawarangpur on 22/23.06.2023.
2) Cash seizure of Rs 1,64,00,000/- during house searches against Sri Umesh Chandra Jena, Additional Director, Directorate of Mines, Bhubaneswar on 03.03.2023.
3) Cash seizure of Rs. 3,41,66,280/- during house searches against Sri Kartikeswar Raul, AE, MI, Bhanjanagar, Ganjam on 07.04.2022.
4) Cash seizure of Rs 1,40,18,070/- during house searches against Ashish Kumar Das, SE, RW Division, Malkangiri on 25.03.2022.
5) Cash seizure of Rs 1,13,16,720/- during house searches against Dr. Sukant Jena, Gynaecologist, Charichhaka CHC following trap on 16.02.2022.
6) Cash seizure of Rs 1,06,44,500/- during house searches against Sri Gaya Santara, Joint Manager, IDCOL on 20/21.12.2022.
Major DA cases based on DA amount:
1) Sri Umesh Chandra Jena, Joint Director, Mines, O/o Directorate of Mines, Bhubaneswar – Rs.10,15,10,590/-.
2) Sri Rajendra Dash, Ex-Accounts Officer, O/o BDO, Reamal Block, DistDeogarh – Rs.8,04,64,045/-.
3) Sri Biswabandhu Panigrahi, Superintending Engineer (SE), O/o EIC, PH Division, Odisha, Bhubaneswar – Rs.5,58,51,330/-
4) Sri Prasanta Kumar Rout, OAS-I (SB), Ex-BDO, Bisra Block, DistSundargarh, A/p-Addl. Sub-Collector, Nawarangpur – Rs.5,40,72,823/-
5) Sri Brajendra Kumar Nayak, Civil Supplies Officer, Nayagarh – Rs. 4,52,60,514/-
Spouses as Co-Accused:
36 Spouses were also brought in the ambit of investigations as co-accused in DA cases.
Interception cases: This year, 7 Govt. officers (4 Class-II officers & 3 Class-III employees) were intercepted while carrying unaccounted cash of Rs.31,40,590/-(Rupees Thirtyone Lakhs Forty Thousand Five Hundred Ninety). The major interception cases were;
1. Sri Kishore Chandra Nayak, Asst. Soil Conservation Officer, Kolnara Block, Dist-Rayagada – Rs.11,84,560/-.
2. Sri Harish Chandra Sahu, Constable in DVF Squad of Boudh district – Rs.6,00,000/-
3. Sri Rohit Kumar Parida, Branch Manager, TDCCOL (Petrol pump), Contractual, Chandragiri-cum-Secretary, TDCC, R.Udaygiri, Dist-Gajapati – Rs. 5,54,000/-.
4. Sri Debi Prasad Mohanty, Superintendent, Ware Housing Corporation (OSWC), Nahantara, Nimapara, Dist-Puri – Rs.2,73,610/-
5. Sri Sushanta Kumar Satpathy, Inspector-in-Charge of Police, Boipariguda Police Station, Dist-Koraput – Rs.2,71,420/-. A total Rs 37,00,000/- were recovered from him during searches.
Trap Cases:
98 trap cases were instituted during the year against 109 public servants and 14 private persons including 8 Class-I officers, 15 Class-II officers, 75 Class-III employees, 4 Class-IV employees, 7 other public servants and 14 private persons for demand and acceptance of bribe amounting to Rs.28.27 Lakhs. The highest cash seizure in a trap case in the history of Odisha Vigilance happened in 2023. Some of the major Trap cases are as follows;
1. On 29.05.2023, Sri Charls Nayak, OAS, Tahasildar, Karanjia, DistMayurbhanj was nabbed by Odisha Vigilance for demand and acceptance of Rs.12,00,000/- by cheque mode to release land acquisition award in favour of a land owner. This is the first case of bribe by cheque mode and also highest ever bribe amount in a trap case detected by Odisha, Vigilance.
2. On 30.12.2023, Sri Bibhuti Kumar Mallick, Field Assistant, O/o Asst. Director, Sericulture, Baripada, Dist-Mayurbhanj was nabbed by Odisha Vigilance while taking bribe of Rs.1,50,000/- for submitting feasibility report for Tussar silk worm plantation.
3. On 21.07.2023, Smt. Puspalata Routray, IIC, Harbhanga Police Station, Dist-Boudh was nabbed by Odisha Vigilance while taking bribe of Rs.1,00,000/- for allowing a quarry lease holder to carry out business activities without harassment.
4. On 31.03.2023, Sri Chittaranjan Mohanty, CT & GST Officer, Enforcement Unit, Paradeep, Dist-Jagatsinghpur was trapped by Odisha Vigilance Odisha Vigilance while taking bribe of Rs.80,000/- to furnish closure report in a CT & GST case of a businessman.
Misappropriation cases:
During the year, 82 misappropriation cases relating to misappropriation of public money were registered against 191 persons, including 162 public servants and 29 private persons, involving misappropriation of public funds amounting to about Rs.47.63 Crores. Misappropriation cases were registered against 12 Class-I officers, 10 Class-II officers, 90 Class-III employees, 4 Class-IV employees, 46 other public servants and 29 private persons.
Arrest:
During this period, 166 persons were arrested, which included 26 Class-I officers, 32 Class-II officers, 85 Class-III employees, 6 Class-IV employee, 7 other public servants and 10 private persons. Among those arrested, include 26 Engineers of different departments, 26 Revenue Officers / officials, 15 Police Officers, 9 Forest Officers / officials, 6 ICDS functionaries and 3 Doctors.
INVESTIGATION
During investigation, searches at over 478 locations were carried out by Odisha Vigilance against 198 corrupt public servants involved in Trap/DA cases. Also 684 number of Bank accounts of corrupt public servants were frozen by Odisha Vigilance. Further, 290 number of buildings in 95 valuation cases worth approx. Rs.48.14 Crores were evaluated by the Technical Wing of Odisha Vigilance.
Disposal:
During last 2 years, high priority has been placed on completion of investigation of cases along with detection. Last year the disposal rate was 122% which was the highest in a decade. In the year 2023, Odisha Vigilance has further improved achieving a disposal rate of 153% in total, 406 cases were disposed off after investigation.
Submission of Charge Sheet:
In 2023, 406 cases were disposed of after investigation, out of which, charge sheets have been placed in 359 cases against 849 persons including 77 ClassI officers, 76 Class-II officers, 329 Class-III employees, 10 Class-IV employees, 56 other public servants and 301 private persons. The percentage of Charge Sheet comes to 88% of the cases disposed of after investigation. In 2022, with chargesheet of 321 cases, Odisha Vigilance was 3rd in the country as per NCRB data. In 2023 also, Odisha Vigilance has kept the same high standards achieved last year.
Major cases charge sheeted in the year, 2023 are given below;
1) 3000 page charge sheet filed by Odisha Vigilance on 22.04.2023 in disproportionate assets case against Dr. Pradeep Kumar Panigrahi, Hon’ble MLA, Gopalpur Assembly Constituency before the Special Judge, Special Court Vigilance, Bhubaneswar for possession of disproportionate assets (DA) worth Rs.9,18,13,007/-.
2) 5000 page charge sheet filed by Odisha Vigilance on 22.08.2023 in disproportionate assets case against Sri Abhay Kant Pathak, IFS, ExAddl. Principal Chief Conservator of Forest before the Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar for possession of disproportionate assets (DA) worth Rs.14,25,46,901/-.
PROSECUTION
As far as prosecution is concerned, we had 124 convictions in 2023 at 50% conviction rate. Further, conviction in DA cases stood at 66%. Of the 124 convictions, 21 were against Class-I officers, 14 Class-II officers, 100 Class-III employees, 2 Class-IV employees, 14 other public servants and 12 private persons. Thus, altogether 163 accused persons were convicted during the period. In 2022, with 90 convictions Odisha Vigilance was 2nd in the country as per NCRB data. With 124 convictions in 2023, Odisha Vigilance has further improved upon the high standards achieved last year.
Odisha Vigilance has taken a number of steps to strengthen prosecution. Trials in 21 Vigilance Courts are being closely monitored on a daily basis by the Vigilance Directorate. 21 PLOs (Prosecution Liaison Officers) have been engaged few months back, who are playing a major role in strengthening the prosecution. Besides assisting the Vigilance Public Prosecutors in the trial, they are also tasked with ensuring expeditious trial, and monitoring evidence tendered by witnesses in the Vigilance Courts during trial. Odisha Vigilance has recently received a sanction from government for engagement of 8 expert Legal Advisors in each of the Divisions. This measure will further enhance the quality of evidence gathered during investigation, and evidence tendered during trial.
Some of the major Convictions are as follows;
1. Sri Vinod Kumar, IAS, Ex-M.D, ORHDC along with others was convicted in a Vigilance case on 27.03.2023. Sri Vinod Kumar, IAS was convicted in a corruption case investigated by Odisha Vigilance.
2. Sri Purna Chandra Dash, Ex-Superintending Engineer(Retired), O/o Erstwhile, Rayagada Irrigation Circle, Padagaon, Dist-Gajapati was convicted in corruption case on 07.02.2023.
3. Sri Rasananda Pradhan, Ex-Divisional Manager (Retired), OFDC, Ltd., Angul was convicted in a Disproportionate Assets (DA) case on 20.02.2023.
4. Sri Kailash Chandra Behera, Ex-Tahasildar, Rourkela, A/p- BDO, Ersama, Jagatsinghpur was convicted in a Trap case on 27.04.2023.
5. Sri Chittaranjan Behera, Ex-IIC, Nihalprasad Police Station, DistDhenkanal, A/p-Inspector, DPO, Kalahandi and others were convicted in a Trap case on 19.07.2023.
6. Sri Ranjan Kishore Behera, Ex-District Labour Officer (DLO), Kandhamal, A/p-DLO, Nabarangpur was convicted in a Trap case on 24.11.2023.
Dismissal from service:
In 2023, 35 public servants i.e. 1 Class-I Officer, 5 Class-II Officers, 28 Class-III employees and 1 other public servant were dismissed from Govt. service following their conviction in Vigilance cases. In 2022, with 30 dismissals, Odisha Vigilance was 3rd in the country as per NCRB data. With 35 dismissals it expects to better its record in 2023 nationally. Major dismissals are as under;
1. Sri Susanta Satpathy, IIC, Boipariguda Police Station, Dist-Koraput dismissed from service on 02.12.2023.
2. Sri Routray Murmu, Mining Officer, Joda, Dist-Keonjhar dismissed from service on 17.10.2023.
3. Sri Chitta Ranjan Behera, IIC, Nihalprasad Police Station, Dist-Dhenkanal dismissed from service on 22.08.2023.
4. Sri Upendra Bhanja Naik, Ex-Junior Engineeer, A/p-Asst. Engineer, RWS&S Division, Sohela Section, Dist-Bargarh dismissed from service on 13.07.2023.
5. Sri Kishore Chandra Gouda, Asst. Agriculture Officer, O/o DAO, G.Udayagiri, Dist-Kandhamal dismissed from service on 05.07.2023.
6. Sri Gokul Chandra Nayak, Ex-Asst. Agriculture Officer, Umerkote, Nabarangpur, A/p-Asst. Agriculture Officer, O/o CDAO, Koraput dismissed from service on 05.07.2023.
Compulsory Retirement:
During the year, a significant number of officers with corruption charges were given compulsory retirement by the Government in pursuance of the policy of zero tolerance to corruption. One of the notable names include Sri Prasanta Kumar Rout, Addl. Sub-Collector, Nawarangpur, Dist-Nawarangpur. Lokayukta Matters: During the year, Odisha Vigilance received 20 number of cases from the Hon’ble Lokayukta for enquiry and submitted 13 numbers of enquiry reports after thorough enquiries. As per direction of Hon’ble Lokayukta, Odisha Vigilance also registered 13 number of criminal cases and submitted 9 number of investigation reports after painstaking investigations. The quality of enquiries and investigations by Odisha Vigilance were appreciated by the Hon’ble Lokayukta.
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
Vigilance Clearance: During this period, Vigilance clearance in respect of 41,044 public servants were issued in response to 5,310 letters received from Govt./Heads of the Departments/District Offices/Public Sector Undertakings of Odisha for the purpose of Promotion/VRS/Pension/RACP/MACP/Passport etc.
Forest Wing:
During this period, the Forest Wing of Odisha Vigilance conducted 114 joint raids and seized timber, machineries and vehicles worth Rs 5.13 Crore (approx). In this connection, forest offence cases have been initiated against 47 persons. State Vigilance Academy (SVA):
In the year 2023, 1,113 number of trainees from various cadres of both Central and State Government i.e. IAS, IPS, OAS, OPS, OFS, OCS, CVOs, OFoS as well as officers of Vigilance and peoples representatives like Zilla Parisad Presidents/Vice-Presidents were trained on Anti-Corruption Laws, Preventive Vigilance and good governance. The State Vigilance Academy has turned into a repository of knowledge in the field of anti-corruption, transparency and good governance. Portal / Toll Free (1064) During this period, Odisha Vigilance received 1,184 calls through Toll Free number 1064 & 470 calls through dedicated Telephone number 0671-2305988. This apart, 143 petitions were received through Odisha Vigilance Website. Based on above calls and petitions received, Vigilance officials took prompt action and succeeded in nabbing a number of accused persons involved in corrupt practices
THE ROAD AHEAD
Going forward, Odisha Vigilance is committed to take strong actions against corrupt practices with focus on higher ranks. It aims to further infuse technology and expand the multidisciplinary character by roping in more professionals with domain expertise. Effective detection of accumulated assets, both physical and digital, be it land, buildings, currency, deposits or even benami transactions, investments in newer financial instruments like crypto currencies, etc. shall remain the priority of Odisha Vigilance.
