3 Retired Odisha Government Officials Convicted of Bribery

Bhubaneswar: A series of convictions have rocked Odisha’s retired government officials, shedding light on corruption within the system. Notably, Jugal Kishore Parida, once the Head Clerk at the Electrical EHT Division in Berhampur’s Ganjam district, faced conviction in the Berhampur Vigilance Case No.6 dated February 21, 2018. The Odisha Vigilance found him guilty of demanding and accepting an INR 8,000 bribe to expedite EPF paperwork for a retired lineman from OSEB, resulting in a 1-year rigorous imprisonment and a fine of INR 5,000 under Section 7 of the PC Act. Moreover, a 2-year rigorous imprisonment and a fine of INR 10,000 were imposed for the Section 13(1)(d) offence, with both sentences running concurrently. Steps to halt his pension are underway following the conviction.

Similarly, Drupada Sahasia, a retired Head Clerk from Sundargarh district’s Kutra Block, faced charges in Sundargarh TR No.141/2016 by the Odisha Vigilance. She was found guilty of soliciting a bribe for leave processing. Her sentence includes 2 years of rigorous imprisonment, along with a fine of INR 3,000 under Section 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d)/7 of the PC Act, 1988. An additional sentence of 1 year of rigorous imprisonment, a fine of INR 2,000, and another month of imprisonment were handed down for the Section 7 offence. The sentences will be served concurrently, and her pension might be ceased post-conviction.

Another case involves Saroj Kumar Das, a former Junior Manager from the Boinda Section in Angul district. He faced conviction by the Special Judge, Vigilance, Angul, under Cuttack Vigilance, PS Case No.17 dated April 2, 2017. Das was found guilty of accepting a bribe to regularize an arrear electric bill and was sentenced to 3 years of rigorous imprisonment, a fine of INR 5,000, and 2 additional months of imprisonment under Section 13(1)(d) of the PC Act, 1988. The case investigation was conducted by S.K. Mishra, a former Inspector from Vigilance, Cuttack Division, while the prosecution was led by Dillip Kumar Mohanty, Spl. P.P, Vigilance, Angul.