Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Monday said that the recent arrest of young officers on corruption charges should serve as a warning for other employees.
Addressing newly appointed government employees at a ‘Nijukti Mela’ (appointment fair) here, Majhi asserted that his administration is adhering to its policy of “zero tolerance for corruption”.
“I may sound harsh but the fact remains that young officers were found involved in corruption. Keeping in view of his top position, it was expected that Aswini Kumar Panda would serve the people with dedication. However, he was arrested on corruption charges. This should serve as a warning to everyone,” he said.
Panda was the 2019 batch Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) topper.
Similarly, he said that another young IAS officer, Dhiman Chakma (2021 batch), also went to jail for corruption.
“Everyone should be careful as it is natural to get punishment for corruption. Our government will continue to adopt the zero-tolerance policy,” the chief minister said, adding that Panda and Chakma indulged in corruption despite availing all the facilities provided by the government.
On September 12, Odisha Vigilance arrested Panda on charges of corruption.
He was arrested and sent to jail for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000 through his office driver for the conversion of agricultural land to homestead land in a mutation case, a Vigilance official said.
Subsequent searches at Panda’s residence and office led to the discovery of Rs 4.73 lakh in cash and gold ornaments, the Vigilance had said in a statement, adding that the 33 years old topped the state civil services examination conducted by Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) in 2019.
Similarly, June 9, Odisha Vigilance arrested 2021-batch IAS officer Dhiman Chakma on charges of accepting Rs 10 lakh bribe from a businessman at Dharmagarh in Kalahandi district.
Subsequently, the sleuths also seized Rs 47 lakh from his possession during a raid on his official residence at Dharmagarh.
