Odisha: Govt official, wife sentenced to two years in jail in corruption case

A government official and his wife were sentenced to two years in jail by a court in Odisha in a 14yearold corruption caseThe special vigilance court sentenced N Prakash Patra and his wife N Santoshini Patra to two years in jail after convicting them in the corruption caseIt was alleged that the couple amassed assets worth Rs 1219 lakh when Prakash was posted as a junior clerk at the Patrapur community health center in Ganjam district about 14 years ago He is at present posted at the Patrapur SubDivisional HospitalSpecial vigilance judge Arun Kumar Sahoo also imposed a fine of Rs 10000 on each of the two Delivering the verdict on Saturday the judge said that they will undergo imprisonment for another three months if they fail to pay the fine amount according to public prosecutor Surendra PandaThe court convicted the couple after examining 25 witnesses and analysing his properties found in raids at his houses office quarter and chamber he saidThe official was caught redhanded while accepting a bribe following which the raids were conducted said PandaThe wife was arrested as she allegedly abetted the offence committed by her husband he saidA vigilance court in Bhubaneswar sentenced Ludasini Nayak an exwelfare extension officer of Nuagaon block in Nayagarh district to four years in jail in a different corruption caseA fine of Rs 5000 was imposed on her and in case she fails to pay it she will undergo imprisonment for another two monthsThe court also sentenced Nayak to three years in jail in a separate corruption case besides imposing a fine of Rs 5000Both the sentences will run concurrently the court saidA retired villagelevel worker VLW of Angul district Sarbeswar Pani was sentenced to three years in jail in another such caseThe special vigilance court in Angul also imposed a fine of Rs 5000 on him and if fails to pay it he will undergo imprisonment for another two monthsThe state Vigilance Department said it will take steps for the dismissal of Prakash and Ludasini from service and stop the pension of the VLW who has retiredThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever