TV
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi suspended Dharamgarh Sub-Collector Dhiman Chakma on Tuesday following his arrest by the Vigilance department for allegedly accepting Rs 10 lakh bribe from a stone crusher owner in Kalahandi district.
Also Read: IAS officer Dhiman Chakma bribe case: Whistleblower crusher owner reveals details
Tainted IAS officer Chakma is in jail
Chakma was previously caught red-handed on June 8 while collecting the bribe, part of a larger demand of Rs 20 lakh. During the raid, Vigilance officials seized Rs 47 lakh in cash from his official quarters, which Chakma failed to justify. The IAS officer has been remanded to judicial custody after his bail plea was rejected. He has been lodged in jail.
The incident has sparked further scrutiny of corruption within the State’s bureaucracy.
In an exclusive revelation to OTV regarding the bribery scandal involving Dharamgarh Sub-Collector Dhiman Chakma, Harsh Bardhan Behera, the owner of a stone crusher unit, said earlier in the day that after being fined by Kalahandi district Mines Department over ‘excess mining’ charge, Chakma had demanded a bribe to reduce the penalty.
According to Behera, his Amjore-based crusher unit was earlier fined Rs 1.60 crore, and his Mahichala coal tar pitch unit was slapped with an additional Rs 13.21 lakh fine. After the penalties were imposed, Chakma had summoned Behera and told him that if he paid Rs 20 lakh, the fines would either be reduced or waived.
“A drone survey was conducted by Areal Constructions & Geo-India Services (a construction and GIS-based consultancy) and ORSAC Empanelment Agencies on Date: 15.08.2024 in Amjore Stone Quarry in the presence of Mining and Revenue officials. As per the survey, excavated road metal of the quarry has been calculated, and a total volume of road metal excavated comes to around 32,559.936 cubic metres,” a Demand Notice previously issued by the Deputy Director of Mines, Kalahandi Circle, to the crusher unit owner mentioned.
