Bhubaneswar, Sept 12: In a strong crackdown on corruption, the Odisha Vigilance Department arrested three government officials for their involvement in bribery and embezzlement, exposing deep-rooted malpractice in different districts.

According to a release from the Vigilance Directorate, Aswini Kumar Panda (OAS), Tahsildar of Bamra in Sambalpur, was caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of ₹15,000 from a complainant to convert agricultural land into homestead land in a mutation case. Panda, along with his office driver P. Praveen Kumar, was apprehended during the transaction. Simultaneous raids were carried out at three of Panda’s properties to check for disproportionate assets.

In another case, Chittaranjan Rout, District Labour Officer of Nayagarh, was trapped while taking a ₹6,000 bribe from a labourer for issuing labour cards. Vigilance teams are also searching Rout’s premises for additional evidence of illegal wealth.

Separately, Puspita Mahakud, former PEO of Luhasila Gram Panchayat in Mayurbhanj, was arrested for embezzling ₹5.68 lakh meant for old-age pensions of senior citizens.

The Vigilance Department has registered cases against all the accused, while further investigations are underway to trace the extent of corruption and recover misappropriated funds.

Powered by Froala Editor