Bhubaneswar, Sep 3: A Special Vigilance Court in Dhenkanal has convicted three persons, including retired IAS officer and former Dhenkanal Collector Nityananda Mohanty, in a corruption case involving the alleged misappropriation of government funds amounting to around Rs 9 lakh.
The other convicts are Suryanarayan Das, former Project Director of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Dhenkanal, and retired officer, and Satyananda Balasamanta, who was serving as a transport contractor at the time of the alleged offence.
The court sentenced all three convicts to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year and also imposed fines on each of them. The accused had been chargesheeted by Odisha Vigilance under Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, along with Sections 468, 471, 420 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
According to the Vigilance investigation, the alleged irregularities took place during 2001-02 when Mohanty was serving as Collector of Dhenkanal. He, along with Das and Balasamanta, allegedly caused financial loss to the government exchequer by approving and making payments at higher-than-prescribed rates for transportation of rice and wheat.
The foodgrains were transported from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) godown in Dhenkanal to various Block and Gram Panchayat headquarters under labour-intensive work.
Vigilance alleged that the transportation rates prescribed by the Odisha Civil Supplies Corporation were not followed. Instead, higher rates were approved and payments made to the contractor based on hand quotations, allegedly in violation of government norms.
Following the conviction, Odisha Vigilance said it would approach the competent authority for stoppage of pension of Nityananda Mohanty and Suryanarayan Das.
About the Author
