Former Tahasildar Sentenced to 3 Years RI in Disproportionate Assets Case

Bhubaneswar: A former tahasildar was sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) and fined Rs 1 lakh on Monday after being convicted in a disproportionate assets (DA) case by a special vigilance court.

The convicted officer, Khirabdi Behera, a retired Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) officer who had served as Tahasildar in Padampur under Rayagada district, was found guilty by the Special Judge, Special Court, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar.

The court convicted Behera under Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Along with the jail sentence, the court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the retired officer.

According to Odisha Vigilance, Behera had been charge-sheeted for allegedly possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income during his tenure in government service.

Following the conviction, Vigilance officials stated that steps would be initiated to approach the competent authority for stoppage of Behera’s pension as per rules applicable to retired government employees convicted in corruption cases.

Further legal proceedings in the matter are awaited.