Sundargarh: A Special Vigilance Court has sentenced a former BDO to rigorous imprisonment for 4 years in a bribe case in Odisha’s Sundargarh district.
According to a release from Odisha Vigilance, Prasanta Kumar Rout, BDO of Bisra in Sundargarh district was arrested for taking a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from a complainant for giving administrative approval along with technical sanction of plan and estimate of 4 projects sanctioned under 4th SFC and 14th CFC.
Later, the Vigilance carried out raids on the properties of Rout and found over Rs 3.02 crore in cash from his possession in June, 2023. Rout had taken premature retirement as sub-collector of Nabarangpur.
Following his arrest in the DA case in 2023, his earlier bribe case was taken up on expeditious trial and closely monitored by Odisha Vigilance.
The Special Judge, Vigilance, Sundargarh on Friday convicted Rout in the brine case and sentenced him to undergo RI for 4 years. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on him. Further, Rout was sent to jail custody to serve his sentence.
Odisha Vigilance will now move the competent authority for stoppage of pension of Rout from service.
