Ex-tax collector convicted for embezzling municipal funds

Bhubaneswar: A special vigilance court in Balangir has sentenced the former Subarnapur municipality tax collector, Sibaram Sahu, to two years of imprisonment for misappropriating govt funds.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Sahu, who was found guilty of embezzling money collected from various municipal fees, including water supply, construction, license fees for cabins, weekly market collections and parking charges.
According to the prosecution, Sahu issued official receipts to taxpayers but failed to record the collections in the municipality's daily collection register, violating the Orissa Municipality Rules-1953.
Following the conviction, the Odisha vigilance has announced plans to approach relevant authorities to terminate Sahu's pension benefits. "Steps will be taken to stop the pension of the convicted official," a vigilance department statement said.