Odisha orders compulsory retirement of 4 corrupt govt officials

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has ordered compulsory retirement of four high ranking officials after charges of corruption were proved against them.

The government officials booked by the State Vigilance Department are Sarat Chandra Panda, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Khariar, with assets of Rs 5.23 crore; Basanta Kumar Behera with assets worth Rs 3.61 crore in his name and his family members; Deputy Commissioner of Excise Department, Dilip K Nag with assets of Rs 1.5 crore and Assistant Civil Supply Officer Ashok Majhi. Apart from possessing disproportionate assets, Majhi is accused of dereliction of duty during cyclone Fani.

Cash worth more than Rs 47.5 lakh was seized from Nag’s residence during a raid. Similarly, bank deposits of more than Rs 4 crore were found under Panda and his family members' names. It was ascertained that the cash was deposited by him during demonetisation period in November 2016 in the accounts of his family members. This is said to be the highest detection of cash in the accounts of a State government employee and his family members.