ORHDC Loan Scam: IAS Vinod Kumar, 4 Others Get 3 Yrs RI

Bhubaneswar: IAS Vinod Kumar and four others who were charge-sheeted by the Odisha Vigilance in a 2008 case have been convicted and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment (RI) for a period of 3 years by the Court of Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar.

The Court also slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 on Kumar and the four others. On default of payment of the fine, they will be required to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for a period of 6 months on each count for the offence under section 468/120B IPC. Both sentences are to run concurrently.

The four others sentenced along with Kumar are former Company Secretary of ORHDC Swasti Ranjan Mohapatra, former Loan Recovery Assistant of ORHDC Umesh Chandra Swain, and partners of Home Lives Housing, Bhubaneswar Rashmi Pattanaik and Ratan Kumar Sahoo.

The above 3 officers of ORHDC, Bhubaneswar had committed criminal misconduct by entering into a criminal conspiracy and showed undue official favour to Rashmi Pattanaik and Ratan Kumar Sahoo both partners of M/s Home Lives Housing, Bhubaneswar in the matter of sanction and disbursement of loan amounting to Rs 50,00,000 without conducting proper documentation, pre & post sanction inspection and without obtaining adequate security.