Sonepur: A special judge, Vigilance in Bolangir sentenced the incumbent tehsildar of Kodinga tehsil in Nabarangpur district to three years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) after convicting him in a bribery case, Thursday.
The convict identified as Subrat Kumar Behera, the incumbent tehsildar of Kodinga tehsil in Nabarangpur district, was previously posted as tehsildar and sub-registrar of Tarava tehsil in Subarnapur district. Special Judge, Vigilance Malaya Ranjan Das also slapped a penalty of `30,000 on Behera, apart from the punishment, Special Public Prosecutor Jaykrushna Sahu said. The court passed the order after examining all the documents submitted by the Vigilance department and the statements recorded by the witnesses.
The Vigilance department is planning to appeal before the authorities for the dismissal of Behera from government service. According to the case diary, Kanhu Charan Dash, an advocate of Ghatkaintara village in Shibatula panchayat of Tarava block, had applied in the tehsil office for registration of his land at Antarda mouza. However, the then tehsildar Behera demanded Rs 20,000 from him as a bribe to get his work done. Angered, Dash lodged a complaint in the Vigilance department. Accordingly, a plan was hatched and the complainant Dash handed over Rs 20,000 bribe to Dash when he was in his government residence. The Vigilance sleuths who were hiding nearby caught Behera red-handed.
