Odisha Vigilance unearthed disproportionate assets worth Rs 160 cr in 2022

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance unearthed disproportionate assets (DA) worth Rs 160 crore in 2022, vigilance director Y.K. Jethwa said on Thursday.

This year, the Odisha Vigilance has so far registered 270 cases, of which 75 are DA cases, 114 trap cases and the rest other corruption cases. Of the 270 cases, nearly 60 cases were registered against Class 1 officers which is the highest in the last five years, Jethwa said.

“As far as cash seizures are concerned, we made record seizures in 2022. The top four cash seizures amounted to Rs 7 crore, the highest ever,” he said.

In trap cases also, the highest cash seizure in the history of Odisha vigilance was recorded this year, he added.

“Last year, we had detected and registered the highest number of DA cases in the country and this year too we hope for a similar performance,” the director told reporters.

As far as prosecution is concerned, 87 convictions have been reported so far this year with about 50 per cent conviction rate. The vigilance has also prioritised completion of investigation and submission of charge sheets, especially in the old cases. Investigations into all the trap cases of 2021 and earlier have been completed, Jethwa claimed.

The vigilance director added that the department is committed to take strong action against corrupt practices with focus on higher ranks.

“We also plan to better our performance through enhanced application of technology in detection and investigation, more effective tracking of databases related to accumulation of assets, both physical and digital, be it land, buildings, currency, deposits or even crypto assets, to identify DA and take action as per law under the Prevention of Corruption Act,” added Jethwa.

–IANS