Odisha tehsildar found with multiple PAN cards, ₹4.65 lakh cash; arrested

Odisha anti-corruption officials on Tuesday arrested a tehsildar after seizing at least 5 PAN cards and cash worth ₹4

Published on: Nov 2, 2021, 23:32:50 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Odisha anti-corruption officials on Tuesday arrested a tehsildar after seizing at least 5 PAN cards and cash worth ₹4.65 lakh from him, officials said.

Vigilance officials said Ramachandra Jena, tehsildar of Nimapara in Puri district, was intercepted by the sleuths at his official residence at Nimapara at around 5 am with unaccounted cash worth ₹4.65 lakh. Jena, who is facing two corruption cases, including one regarding the settlement of the land, could not explain how he got the cash. Jena’s brother Laxman Jena was also arrested in the case.

Jena was also found to be in possession of 5 PAN cards with different dates of birth and father’s name which are offences under the Income Tax Act. As per the IT Act, a fine of ₹10,000 is imposed on anyone who owns duplicate PAN cards under Section 272B.

According to the vigilance officials, the tehsildar’s younger brother was an active accomplice and abettor in Jena’s corrupt activities. He used to manage Jena’s bribe money.

During the investigation, the tehsildar’s brother confessed that in September 2021, his brother called him thrice to Nimapara and gave him 10 lakh in three instalments - ₹2.5 lakh, ₹5 lakh and ₹2.5 lakh, respectively - which he deposited in his ICICI bank account. The ICICI Bank passbook has been seized.

On Monday night, he received a telephone call from his brother to collect ₹4.5 lakh on Tuesday early morning when the vigilance officials caught him. Further search at his residence at CDA Sector 11 in Cuttack and his native place at Dhanmandal in Garadpur Block of Kendrapara is on. The search operation was led by one additional superintendent of police (SP), seven deputy SPs and two inspectors of the vigilance department.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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