Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has reinstated 2021-batch IAS officer Dhiman Chakma, who was suspended following his arrest in a high-profile bribery case last year.
According to official notification, Chakma has been appointed as the Deputy Secretary in the Revenue and Disaster Management Department
Chakma, originally from Tripura, was serving as Sub-Collector of Dharamgarh in Kalahandi district when he was caught red-handed by the Odisha Vigilance on June 8, 2025 while allegedly accepting Rs 10 lakh as the first installment of a Rs 20 lakh bribe from a local businessman operating a stone crusher unit, in exchange for not taking action against the unit.
Following the trap, Vigilance officials searched his official residence and recovered
Rs 47 lakh in unaccounted cash. He was formally arrested and the state government placed him under suspension on June 10, 2025, while initiating departmental proceedings. Chakma was later forwarded to court in connection with the case registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The Orissa High Court granted him conditional bail on July 24, 2025, citing no immediate prospect of trial, after a lower Vigilance court in Bhawanipatna had rejected his earlier bail plea. He had spent around 40 days in judicial custody.
According to government sources, Chakma’s reinstatement, via an order issued around May 21, 2026, is not an acquittal, but rather a standard procedural move mandated by service rules governing prolonged suspension periods. Under these guidelines, the state cannot indefinitely keep an officer under suspension without a concluded trial or inquiry.
Officials have emphasised that the move does not constitute exoneration. Both the ongoing departmental inquiry and the criminal proceedings in the Vigilance Court will continue independently. Further action on Chakma’s service will depend on the final outcome of the court verdict.
The development has sparked public debate and criticism on social media over the choice of posting, with netizens pointing out the irony of placing an officer accused of financial misconduct directly into a high-stakes revenue department.