ORHDC scam: Ex-IAS & 4 others sentenced 3 yrs RI

Apart from Vinod Kumar, the others convicted are former company secretary of ORHDC Swasti Ranjan Mohapatra, former loan recovery assistant Umesh Chandra Swain, and Rashmi Pattanaik and Ratan Kumar Sahoo, both partners of Home Lives Housing, Bhubaneswar.According to the Vigilance departments charges, the former ORHDC officers had entered into a criminal conspiracy and showed undue official favour to Rashmi Pattanaik and Ratan Kumar Sahoo in the matter of sanction and disbursement of loan amounting to Rs 50 lakh without proper documentation, pre post sanction inspection and without obtaining adequate security.

A Special Vigilance court here Monday convicted former IAS officer Vinod Kumar and four others in the Odisha Rural Housing Development Corporation (ORHDC) loan scam and sentenced them to three years of rigorous imprisonment.

This is the seventh consecutive conviction of Vinod Kumar, former ORHDC Managing Director, in corruption cases, the vigilance department said in a statement.

The court of the Special Vigilance Judge, Bhubaneswar convicted the five under Section 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and section 468/120-B of IPC. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each on the convicts. Apart from Vinod Kumar, the others convicted are former company secretary of ORHDC Swasti Ranjan Mohapatra, former loan recovery assistant Umesh Chandra Swain, and Rashmi Pattanaik and Ratan Kumar Sahoo, both partners of Home Lives Housing, Bhubaneswar.

According to the Vigilance department's charges, the former ORHDC officers had entered into a criminal conspiracy and showed undue official favour to Rashmi Pattanaik and Ratan Kumar Sahoo in the matter of sanction and disbursement of loan amounting to Rs 50 lakh without proper documentation, pre & post sanction inspection and without obtaining adequate security.