Bhubaneswar, August 14: In a major crackdown on corruption, the Odisha Vigilance on Wednesday arrested four government functionaries in separate bribery cases. The accused include three health department staffers and a junior clerk, all of whom are being forwarded to Vigilance courts.
The arrested officials are: Two health staffers from the Office of the Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO), Parlakhemundi, Gajapati district
One health staffer from the Community Health Centre (CHC) at Muniguda in Rayagada district
One junior clerk from the office of the Block Education Officer (BEO), Mahakalapada, Kendrapara district
In one of the operations, Vigilance sleuths trapped Jagdish Pattnaik, a clerk at the CDMO office in Parlakhemundi, and Niranjan Nayak, a peon from the same office, while allegedly accepting bribes. Following the trap, simultaneous searches were conducted at Pattnaik’s office and government residence.
During the searches, a total of ₹6,69,700 in cash was recovered — ₹5,19,700 from Pattnaik’s office drawer and ₹1.5 lakh from his government quarters. The seized cash is suspected to be ill-gotten bribery money.
Vigilance officials are currently interrogating Pattnaik to trace the exact source of the seized cash. Further investigations are underway, and more updates are expected.
The arrests are part of Odisha Vigilance’s intensified drive to curb corruption within government departments.
