Bhubaneswar, Sep 3: A Special Vigilance Court in Dhenkanal has convicted three persons, including retired IAS officer and former Dhenkanal Collector Nityananda Mohanty, in a corruption case involving the misappropriation of government funds.

The other convicts are Suryanarayan Das, former Project Director of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Dhenkanal, and retired officer, and Satyananda Balasamanta, then a transport contractor.

The court sentenced all three to undergo one year of rigorous imprisonment and imposed fines on each of them. They were chargesheeted by Odisha Vigilance under Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and Sections 468, 471, 420 and 120-B of the IPC for alleged misappropriation of around Rs 9 lakh.

According to Vigilance, the irregularities occurred during 2001-02 when Mohanty was serving as Dhenkanal Collector. He allegedly approved a higher transportation rate proposed by Das for moving rice and wheat from the FCI godown to different Block and Gram Panchayat headquarters.

The prescribed rates of the Odisha Civil Supplies Corporation were allegedly violated, with higher payments made to the contractor through acceptance of hand quotations.

Following the conviction, Odisha Vigilance said it would move the competent authority for stoppage of pension of Mohanty and Das.

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