Four Retired Odisha Government Officials Convicted in Vigilance Cases

Bhubaneswar: In a major development in Odisha’s fight against corruption, four retired government officials have been convicted in three separate vigilance cases for amassing disproportionate assets and accepting bribes. The convictions were announced today and include former senior officials from the Odisha State Cooperative Bank, OPTCL, Lephripara Block of Sundargarh, and the Divisional Forest Office (DFO) in Bolangir.

Babaji Charan Prusty, retired Deputy General Manager of the Odisha State Cooperative Bank Ltd in Bhubaneswar, and his wife Khirabala Dei, a retired Grade-I Assistant from the Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited (OPTCL), Bhubaneswar, were found guilty of possessing assets disproportionate to their known sources of income. Odisha Vigilance had earlier filed a chargesheet against the couple following a detailed investigation. The court sentenced both to two years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹1,00,000 each.

In a separate case, Subash Chandra Mishra, a retired Odisha Administrative Service (OAS-I) officer and former Block Development Officer (BDO) of Lephripara Block in Sundargarh district, was also convicted for accumulating disproportionate assets. The court handed him a two-year jail sentence along with a fine of ₹50,000. Mishra had been under the vigilance scanner for irregularities during his tenure.

The third conviction involved Kalandi Charan Bhuyan, a retired Junior Accountant from the office of the Divisional Forest Officer in Bolangir. He was found guilty of accepting bribes during his service. Bhuyan has been sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment and fined ₹10,000.

In response to these convictions, the Odisha Vigilance Department has announced that it will initiate proceedings with the competent authorities to stop the pensions of all four convicts. The move signals a continued commitment by the state to uphold integrity and accountability within public service.