Retired Odisha bureaucrat gets jail term for corruption

A special vigilance court in Odisha Monday convicted a retired IAS officer in a 24-year-old corruption case and sentenced him to 20 months rigorous imprisonment.

The court also slapped a fine of Rs.34,800 on Ramesh Chandra Behera.

"The vigilance judge has awarded 20 months RI in the disproportionate assets case. If the convict fails to pay the fine, he will have to bear another three months RI," said special public prosecutor Sunil Kumar Pati.

The vigilance department had raided Behera's house May 19, 1990, following allegations that he had amassed property disproportionate to his known source of income.

At that time, Behera was an additional secretary in state housing and urban development departmentt.

Before retiring in 2010, Behera was an officer without duty for nearly two-and-a-half years. The government had also confiscated some of the properties of the officer and one farmhouse belongs to Behera was turned into a nursery-cum-training centre for local farmers in Ganjam district in 2011.

However, it took nearly 21 years for the government to confiscate the properties.

The government had confiscated the immovable properties including a two-storey building, a farmhouse and 10 plots in and around Berhampur in Ganjam district following a court order.