The Special Vigilance Court in Bhubaneswar today convicted seven individuals, including a senior IAS officer, for misappropriating government funds intended for rural housing development.
The case highlights ongoing issues of graft within the Orissa Rural Housing Development Corporation (ORHDC), marking the 12th such conviction involving former Managing Director Vinod Kumar and his associates.
The convicted parties include Vinod Kumar, IAS, the former Managing Director of ORHDC; Swosti Ranjan Mohapatra, Ex-Company Secretary; Pradeep Kumar Rout, Ex-Accounts Officer; Satya Prakash Behera, Ex-Junior Loan Officer; Janendra Swain, Ex-System Analyst; and Umesh Chandra Swain, Ex-Recovery Assistant—all from ORHDC in Bhubaneswar. Joining them is Samgram Keshari Sahoo, the proprietor of M/S Ecstasy Builders & Developers Pvt. Ltd., a private firm based in the city.
According to details from the Odisha Vigilance Directorate, the group was charged under Sections 13(2) read with 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, along with Sections 468, 471, 420, and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code. They stand accused of diverting Rs. 52,95,000 in public funds meant to aid rural poor communities for housing initiatives. The officials allegedly abused their positions by extending undue favors to the private builder, fabricating fake documents, and forging records to facilitate the embezzlement.
The Hon’ble Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar, pronounced the verdict after a thorough trial, sentencing each convict to three years of rigorous imprisonment along with an unspecified fine.
This conviction is part of a broader pattern of irregularities uncovered in ORHDC operations. Vinod Kumar, the IAS officer at the center of the scandal, has now been implicated in 12 separate corruption cases, each involving criminal conspiracies with fellow officials and private entities.
