2 govt officers arrested in corruption cases in Odisha

Bhubaneswar, Sep 23 (PTI) Two Odisha government officers were arrested on Tuesday in corruption cases, officials said.

Odisha Administrative Service officer Siba Mallick, who was the tahsildar of Mahakalpada in Kendrapara district, was apprehended while he was allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 20,000, they said.

He allegedly took the bribe for evicting an illegal structure from government land that was obstructing the passage to the house of the complainant, they added.

A raid was conducted and Rs 1.54 lakh in cash was seized, officials said.

Bamanbindha Service Co-operative Society's former secretary Sudarsan Khatua was the other person arrested by the Vigilance Department, they said.

He was arrested from Bhadrak district for allegedly misappropriating Rs 13.32 lakh, they said.

During financial years 2020-21 and 2021-22, he allegedly siphoned public money by manipulating official records under different heads, officials said. PTI BBM BBM SOM