BDO, sarpanches suspended on corruption charges

Odisha government on Monday placed a Block Development Officer (BDO) and two sarpanches under suspension on the charges of corruption, official sources said.

The suspended BDO, an Odisha Administrative Service officer (OAS), was identified as Rabinda Kumar Satpathy, posted at Harbhanga block in Boudha district.

He was allegedly involved in financial irregularities in implementing rural housing scheme and encouraging corruption, the sources said.

Actions were also taken against Abhimanyu Jena and Usant Sahoo, sarpnches of Kedarpur gram panchayat in Balasore district and of Ankorada gram panchayat in Ganjam district respectively.

"These three persons were suspended after the approval of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. While the BDO was suspended for his act of encouraging corruption in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Sahoo had accumulated properties disproportionate to his known source of income. Jena had caught involved in corrupt practice," Panchayati Raj Minister Pratap Jena said.