Odisha Vigilance intercepts Ganjam chief supplies officer with Rs 3 Lakh cash

Odisha Vigilance caught Pusha Munda, Ganjam's Chief Supplies Officer, with Rs 3 lakh in unexplained cash near Chhatrapur, highlighting ongoing corruption in the public supply chain. The cash, all in Rs 500 denomination notes bundled in six wads, was found hidden inside the vehicle. A detailed probe by the Vigilance sleuths is underway.

Odisha Vigilance intercepts Ganjam chief supplies officer with Rs 3 Lakh cash

Ganjam Chief Supplies Officer (CSO in charge) Pusha Munda

time

A Chief Supplies Officer (CSO in charge) working in Ganjam district and identified as Pusha Munda was caught on Wednesday in a vigilance trap near Chhatrapur with Rs 3 lakh in unexplained cash. The Vigilance team from Berhampur had been tracking him for last three days before making the move.

Also Read: Odisha doctor caught while 'accepting bribe' to provide favourable post-mortem report

According to sources, in an anti-corruption operation, Berhampur Vigilance officials seized Rs 3 lakh in cash from the vehicle of Pusha Munda, the in-charge Chief Supplies Officer of Ganjam district, on the national highway near Chhatrapur.

Munda was travelling from his rented house at Bank Colony in Chhatrapur to his office when the Vigilance team intercepted his vehicle. The sleuths had been tracking his movements for the past three days based on credible intelligence.

The cash, all in Rs 500 denomination notes bundled in six wads, was found hidden inside the vehicle. The Vigilance team is currently investigating the source of the seized money. Munda was unable to provide a satisfactory explanation during the initial questioning.

This operation has once again spotlighted the ongoing corruption within Odisha’s public supply chain system, with the Vigilance department intensifying its crackdown on officials suspected of illicit financial activity.

Further legal and departmental proceedings are expected based on the probe’s outcome.

No comments were received from Vigilance officials or the CSO in charge in this regard.

Earlier in another incident, in a crackdown on corruption in the healthcare system, Odisha Vigilance on Monday (July 7) apprehended Dr. Siba Prasad Sethi, Medical Officer of Community Health Centre (CHC), Kujang, in Jagatsinghpur district, while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 for issuing a favourable post-mortem report.

Dr. Sethi had conducted the autopsy of a woman who reportedly died of food poisoning. The complainant, husband of the deceased, was seeking an early release of the post-mortem report to process insurance claims.

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