Bhubaneswar: The year 2022 has been an astounding year for the Odisha Vigilance Department in ensuring probity in government service and acting tough on those who deviate. Following the principles of zero tolerance approach to corruption as advised by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the Odisha Vigilance Department has been working round the clock to serve the people by bringing to books those indulge in corrupt practices.
In 2022, the Odisha Vigilance department scaled new heights of success. During the year, 285 criminal cases were registered which included 200 government officers. With its continuous vigilance, the department successfully registered 84 DA cases and unearthed disproportionate assets worth Rs 174 Crores.
Vigilance sleuths also registered 118 trap cases and 129 persons including 126 government officers were trapped while demanding and accepting bribe worth Rs 36.94 lakhs. It also created history by making four top cash seizures in DA searches of Odisha in 2022. Acting tough on the higher officials indulging in corrupt practices, the Vigilance Department has registered cases against 60 Class-I officers in 2022, (highest in last 5 years). During 2022, Odisha Vigilance had detected and registered the highest number of DA cases in the country and hopeful of a similar performance in 2023.
In a record, the Department has carried out searches at over 600 locations in Trap/DA cases. In total, 898 bank accounts of corrupt public servants have been frozen by the Odisha vigilance. The Department has also unearthed and freezed crypto assets during the year. Also, 111 number of buildings/projects in 62 valuation cases worth approx Rs 24 crores evaluated and 62 spouses were made co-accused in 82 number of DA cases.
The Department has also created history by achieving highest ever disposals of Vigilance cases. Investigations have been completed in 347 cases at a disposal rate of 122% of registration. This is the highest ever percentage of disposal in a decade. Investigations in all trap cases of 2021 and earlier and over 60% trap cases of 2022 have been completed.
The prosecution also improved significantly as 91 convictions were made in 2022 including that of former IAS Vinod Kumar and Md Moquim, MD Metro Builders.
During this period, 200 persons were arrested, which included 37 Class-I officers, 39 Class-II officers, 105 Class-III employees, 4 Class-IV employee, 5 other public servants and 10 private persons. Among those arrested, include 47 Engineers of different departments, 31 Revenue Officers / officials, 20 Police Officers, 13 Forest Officers / officials, 12 Doctors and 7 ICDS functionaries.
During investigation, searches at over 600 locations were carried out by Odisha Vigilance against 200 corrupt public servants involved in Trap/DA cases. Also, 898 number of Bank accounts of corrupt public servants were frozen by Odisha Vigilance. Further, 111 number of buildings in 62 valuation cases worth approx Rs.24 Crores were evaluated by the Technical Wing of Odisha Vigilance.
This year, high priority was on disposal along with detection. Investigations in all trap cases of 2021 and earlier were completed. Also, investigation in about 60% trap cases of 2022 were completed. During the year, 347 cases were disposed off after investigation as against registration of 285 cases, taking the disposal rate to 122% of registration.
During the year, 30 public servants i.e. 2 Class-I Officers, 8 Class-II Officers and 20 Class-III employees were dismissed from Government service following their conviction in Vigilance cases. During the year, a significant number of officers with corruption charges were given compulsory retirement by the Government in pursuance of the policy of zero tolerance to corruption.
Going forward, Odisha Vigilance is committed to take strong action against corrupt practices with focus on higher ranks 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 Disproportionate Assets and take action as per law under the PC Act.