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| Subhankar Nayak |
Bhubaneswar, Dec. 1: The special vigilance court today convicted retired IAS officer Ramesh Chandra Behera, 62, on graft charges.
He has been sentenced to 20 months of rigorous imprisonment (RI). The court also imposed a fine of Rs 34,800, failing which he would have to undergo further imprisonment for three months.
Behera is accused of possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. The judgment came 24 years after the state vigilance department had levelled the charge against him.
The vigilance court found Behera guilty of possessing disproportionate assets worth Rs 3.48 lakh. The vigilance department had registered a case against Behera in 1990.
The court had confiscated a farmhouse belonging to Behera in Ganjam district in March 2011, and subsequently, the horticulture department opened a nursery on the plot. Behera retired in 2010 as additional secretary in the housing and urban development department.
In another development, broker Subhankar Nayak, who was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation for his alleged links with the Seashore Group, a ponzi firm, was sent to judicial custody after his remand came to an end today. The central agency had seized a diary from Nayak, which contained the names of some IAS and IPS officials.
Nayak’s bail plea did not materialise today since his counsel sought a day’s time to present the necessary documents. The bail plea hearing would now be held tomorrow.
Nayak, who is believed to have been a conduit between the Seashore Group and bureaucrats, would be kept under surveillance at Jharapada jail. Sources said Nayak was a key accused in the case and jail authorities should keep a close watch on him, so that there are no threats to his life. Subhankar’s diary and confession about the role of many high-profile people, including a number of IAS and IPS officers in the ponzi scam, has already created a big ripple in the power corridors of the state. This adds to the security threat of this middleman.
In another development, the Khurda district and sessions court rejected the bail plea of Mayurbhanj MP Rama Chandra Hansdah. Hansdah was arrested by the CBI for his alleged links with Naba Diganta Private Limited, a money deposit collection company. He was taken into custody on charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy and diversion of funds.