Court Grants Bail To Former OPHWC Officer As Odisha Vigilance Fails To File Chargesheet

Bhubaneswar: The Special Judge Vigilance Court, here, on Monday granted default bail to the former deputy manager of Odisha State Police Housing and Welfare Corporation (OPHWC), Pratap Kumar Samal, who was arrested by Vigilance for having assets disproportionate to his known sources of his income last year.

The court granted the bail to Samal as the Vigilance failed to file chargesheet within stipulated 60 days. Vigilance had arrested Samal after he was found in possession of assets worth over Rs 14.88 crore, which was 1022 per cent more than his known sources of income, during raids on his properties on November 9 last year. The state government had ordered the compulsory retirement of Samal on November 18.

Samal was produced in the Vigilance court on November 10. As Vigilance did not file the chargesheet within 60 days, he was granted default bail under Section 167(2) of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), sources said. Samal can not be arrested until the trial of the case is over, they added.

The Vigilance has to collect detailed evidence in connection with the case and it is a time-consuming process, TNIE quoted a Vigilance officer as saying.

As per a Supreme Court order, the accused gets an indefeasible right to default bail if he/she makes an application after the maximum period for investigation of an offence is over and before a chargesheet is filed.

It may be noted that the Vigilance has also begun a probe into the alleged Ollywood link of Samal. The anti-corruption sleuths quizzed Samal’s sister Namita Das with whom Samal had made an unregistered partnership deed for producing two Odia movies under the banner of Radha Krishna Productions. His wife Sasmita Samal was also named in the deed.

Also Read: Former OPHWC Deputy Manager’s Sister Quizzed Over Rs 50 Lakh Invested In 2 Odia Films; Know His Property Details