Vigilance raids senior IAS officer's residence

Bhubaneswar: A day after senior IAS officer Binod Kumar and five other persons were found guilty in connection with a massive financial fraud in Orissa Rural Housing Development Corporation (ORHDC), Vigilance sleuths today raided the residence of the officer in a bid to arrest him.

Officials of the anti-corruption agency conducted raids at the official residence of Kumar at VIP Colony of Nayapalli in Bhubaneswar but could not arrest him as he is reportedly untraceable since last evening.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Special Vigilance Court, Bhubaneswar convicted Kumar, a former director of OHRDC and five other persons for financial irregularities to the tune of Rs 55 lakh in 2000.

The Court has also issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against four out of the five accused as one of them, former assistant manager of ORHDC Sanjay Mohanty had deposed before the court for hearing.

Sanjay Mohanty has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three years along with a fine of Rs 25,000.

The others have been identified as the then Executive Director (Technical) of the OHRDC Purna Chandra Das, Accounts Officer Pratap Rout, Accountant Chittaranjan Mohanty and one Ashish Nayak.

It is to be noted that Kumar was earlier arrested in May 2016 after he failed to appear before the court despite repeated summons in connection with the OHRDC scam trial. However he was released on bail later.

An IAS officer of 1989 batch, Kumar allegedly conspired, sanctioned and disbursed loans to builders and contractors without obtaining adequate collateral security and proper scrutiny during the year 2000-2001.