Odisha Vigilance Terms 2024 A Year Of Success, Know Why

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance on Tuesday gave a detailed account of its major achievements in 2024.

The department revealed that 200 criminal cases were registered against corrupt government officials in the last 12 months. The vigilance sleuths carried out search operations at 483 locations and 105 convictions were secured with a conviction rate of 50 per cent. But in DA cases, the conviction rate was 80 per cent.

During the year, the Vigilance claimed to have intensified its anti-corruption drive across the state bringing to book several scrupulous government employees.

In a press release, it also claimed to have made substantial progress in detecting, investigating, and prosecuting corruption cases in 2024.

The department stated it had registered 200 criminal cases leading to the arrest of 181 government officials and others. Cases were lodged against 50 Class-I officers, including 6 chief engineers, 2 assistant commissioners (CT&GST), a jail superintendent, and several other senior officials such as sub-collectors, tehsildars, and BDOs.

Among the arrested were 19 engineers, 22 revenue officials, 20 PR & DW officials, 9 police officers, 5 doctors, and others, the department informed.

Besides, a total of 60 disproportionate assets (DA) cases were registered, uncovering illicit assets worth over Rs 131 crore, while 96 trap cases were recorded, with 115 individuals, including 99 government officials, caught accepting bribes totaling Rs 19.25 lakh, the release stated.

During the year, searches were conducted at 483 locations across the state concerning trap and DA cases. Altogether 792 bank accounts linked to corrupt officials were frozen and 194 buildings and projects, evaluated in 72 valuation cases, were assessed to be worth approximately Rs 27.03 crore, informed Odisha Vigilance department.

As far as investigations were concerned, probes were concluded in 307 cases, achieving the highest-ever disposal rate of 154%, the release said.

Giving an account of convictions, the department stated a total of 105 convictions were secured, maintaining a conviction rate of 50%. However, DA cases saw a higher conviction rate of 80%. Following their convictions, 25 government officials were dismissed from service, the release added.