ORHDC ex-MD convicted among 6

The Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar, convicted former managing director of  Odisha Rural Housing Development Corporation (ORHDC), Vinod Kumar, besides five others in a corruption case.

The case relates to Bhubaneswar Vigilance PS Case No. 54 of December 31, 2007 registered against the six accused persons for commission of criminal conspiracy, cheating, show of undue official favour and criminal misconduct and allowing pecuniary advantage to the secretary of NGO Gramya Bikas Manch in sanction and disbursement of loan for setting up and management of Rural Building Centre at Balipatna.

The five other convicted include ORHDC’s former Executive Director (Technical) Purna Chandra Das, former Assistant Manager Sanjay Mohanty, former Accounts Officer Pradeep Kumar Rout, Accountant (Contractual) Chittaranjan Mallick and Gramya Bikas Manch (NGO) secretary Ashis Kumar Nayak.

They were charge sheeted under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 420/120-B of IPC. The court passed sentence against convict Sanjay Mohanty(who was present in the court) to undergo rigorous imprisonment (RI) for three years and pay a fine of Rs 5,000 and in default to undergo RI for two months.

As the other five convicts were not present during pronouncement of judgement, their sentences were not pronounced and the judge issued non-bailable warrant of arrest against them.