Money laundering case against ex-staff of OSSC

BHUBANESWAR: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a money laundering case against Odisha Staff Selection Commission’s former employee Biranchi Narayan Sahoo, who was arrested by the vigilance on July 30 for alleged corrupt practices and possession of assets disproportionate to his known source of income.
“We have taken suo motu cognisance of the case and will probe the money laundering aspect. Sahoo’s bank statements are being examined. If required, we may take him on remand for interrogation,” an ED officer said. Currently, Sahoo is being interrogated in vigilance custody. The vigilance took him on four-day remand for questioning on Tuesday. The anti-corruption unit found him owing disproportionate assets (DA) to the tune of nearly Rs 3.51 crore.
Arrest of Sahoo, who was the private secretary of the staff selection commission’s member Jagannath Lenka, created a flutter and raised suspicion of possible irregularities in recruitment to Group-C posts in the state government. Accumulation of huge movable and immovable assets by Sahoo, who was a Class-III employee, lent credence to the possible recruitment scam in the commission. Many people also question as to how he thrived for years without getting caught.
“We are investigating from all angles, including the corruption and suspected cheating. Our inquiry indicates Sahoo started accumulating wealth from 2010. He confessed that he took money only from the new recruits after their selection. But we are trying to find out whether he had taken money from the job aspirants before their selection,” a senior vigilance officer said. The anti-corruption agency will probe suspected criminal conspiracy and connivance of other employees of the staff selection commission, if any.
The government on Monday gave compulsory retirement to Sahoo (58) for his alleged corrupt activities.