2 Additional Tehsildars nabbed by Vigilance in Odisha

Separate raids, carried out by the Odisha Vigilance sleuths in Khordha and Angul districts, landed two Additional Tehsildars in trouble on Wednesday.

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In the major anti-corruption drive and after two days of continuous raids, Odisha Vigilance has arrested Jitendra Kumar Panda, Additional Tehsildar of Barang tehsil, on charges of amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Following his arrest, Panda was produced before a local court. Vigilance officials revealed that after two consecutive days of searches, his assets were found to be nearly 300 times higher than his legal sources of income.

During raids, Vigilance officials detected two multi-duplex houses in Badagada locality of Bhubaneswar, a flat in Uttara on the outskirts, a house and four plots in Khordha district. Officials also seized Rs 73.66 lakh in cash, around 500 grams of gold ornaments, and four luxury vehicles from his possession.

In the second incident, Prakash Chandra Nayak, Additional Tehsildar of Chhendipada tehsil in Angul district, was also caught in the Vigilance net on the same day. He was caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 9,000 in connection with a mutation case.

Vigilance officials detained Nayak along with another staff member during the operation.

Both cases highlight the state Vigilance Department’s intensified action against corruption in revenue offices across Odisha.

“Chhendipada Additional Tehsildar was caught in a Vigilance trap. He was detained while taking a bribe from a lawyer Gobinda Modi for three land mutation cases. The Vigilance team swooped in while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 9,000,” a senior official said.

“Vigilance sleuths caught him while he was taking a bribe through the tehsil office peon, Kahnu Sahu. The team has detained both of them and is continuing the probe,” the official added.