'Odisha Vigilance Registered 202 Graft Cases, Arrested 212 Officials And Others In 2025'

(MENAFN- IANS) Bhubaneswar, Dec 31 (IANS) Odisha Vigilance registered 202 cases in 2025 and arrested 212 corrupt government officials and private individuals in connection with various graft-related offences, Vigilance Director Y.K. Jethwa said on Wednesday.

Of the 202 cases registered during the year, 49 were disproportionate assets (DA) cases involving 89 individuals. During the same period, 97 trap cases were registered against 114 government officials, including 14 Class-I officers, Vigilance officials said.

The total value of disproportionate assets unearthed in the 49 DA cases stood at around Rs 120 crore. Of these, 21 DA cases involved Class-I officers, while 13 cases were against Class-II officers.

As many as 36 spouses of accused officials were also named as co-accused in DA cases during the year.

In 2025, Odisha Vigilance arrested 53 Class-I officers, including one IAS officer, six Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) officers, 24 engineers - including one Chief Engineer and two Superintending Engineers -- 17 forest officials, 20 revenue officials, a Joint Commissioner of the State Transport Authority, a Joint Director, 16 police personnel and five doctors, among others.

During searches, Vigilance teams seized 153 buildings, 714 plots, 12 farmhouses, 18.3 kg of gold, bank deposits worth around Rs 36.69 crore and cash amounting to Rs 8.81 crore. Searches were conducted at 487 locations, while 1,199 bank accounts were frozen. Technical valuation pegged the value of seized buildings and flats at Rs 51.38 crore.

Addressing the media, Jethwa said Odisha Vigilance recorded its highest-ever case disposal rate in 2025. The agency achieved a disposal rate of 237 per cent, completing investigation in 479 cases and filing charge sheets against 766 persons. Of these, 155 DA cases were fully investigated and charge sheets submitted to courts.

The agency secured 108 convictions during the year, reflecting a conviction rate of around 50 per cent. Following convictions, 24 serving officials were dismissed from service, while pensions of 50 retired officials were stopped by the concerned authorities.

Jethwa said more than 22 vigilance courts are currently functioning across the state. Responding to queries, he identified the Engineering, Panchayati Raj, Revenue, Police and Forest departments as the most corruption-prone sectors, citing their large workforce and operational spread.

Looking ahead to 2026, the Vigilance Director said the department will intensify its anti-corruption drive with enhanced manpower and specialised support in financial analysis, cyber investigation and legal fields. The state government has sanctioned additional posts, including Additional SPs, Deputy SPs, SIs and technical experts such as chartered accountants and banking professionals.

“We are determined to pursue our anti-corruption mission with greater dedication and efficiency. With additional resources and expertise, we aim to further improve our performance in the coming year,” Jethwa said.

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