Tainted OAS officer Prasanta Rout given compulsory retirement after arrest by Vigilance

The Odisha government on Tuesday ordered compulsory retirement of Prasanta Kumar Rout, Additional Sub-Collector of Nabarangpur district, who was recently arrested by Vigilance on charges of possessing disproportionate assets worth Rs 5.21 crore. The possession of assets by Rout is 506 percent more than his known sources of income.

Cash to the tune of Rs 3 crore was also recovered during the raid by Vigilance on Rout’s residence. It is said that the action against Rout has been taken following mounting attacks on the state government by the Opposition.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently targeted the third floor after a photograph of Rout with 5T Secretary had gone viral on social media following the vigilance raid. Though the state government had acted tough on several corrupt officers by handing over compulsory retirements, it is speculated the action against Rout has been taken following the mounting pressure by the Opposition.

The Opposition alleged that Rout had hand in glove with the higher rank officials in the administration for which he was able to indulge in such corrupt practices and amass such huge wealth.

Though Rout’s batchmates have got promotions and reached special secretary rank, he was still working in Nabarangpur which brought him under surveillance.

It may be recalled that locals burst firecrackers and distributed sweets celebrating the vigilance raids on Rout.

Rout had started his career as an OAS officer on July 1, 1996. He worked as Tehsildar in Kendrapara, Jajpur, Balasore, Bargarh districts and as BDO in Jajpur, Cuttack, Kendrapara and Sundargarh districts respectively. During his tenure as BDO at Bisra Block, he was arrested on November 6, 2018 in a trap case for taking Rs 1 lakh bribe. Later, he was placed under suspension and was reinstated on January 18, 2020 as the Additional Sub-Collector of Nabarangpur.