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Odisha IAS officer Dhiman Chakma caught accepting ₹10 lakh bribe | Video
Odisha Vigilance said 2021-batch IAS officer Dhiman Chakma allegedly threatened a businessman, demanding ₹20 lakh to avoid action against his business.
Dhiman Chakma, a Sub-Collector of Dharamgarh in Odisha’s Kalahandi district, was caught on Monday allegedly accepting a ₹10 lakh bribe from a local businessman, according to the Odisha Vigilance Department.
M Radhakrishna, SP (Vigilance), said that Chakma was presented before the special vigilance court in Bhawanipatna, which denied his bail request and sent him to 14 days of judicial custody.
Following the arrest, officials conducted searches at Chakma’s government residence, where an additional ₹47 lakh in cash was recovered. Investigations are ongoing, the department said in a release.
“During the search, ₹47 lakh in cash was found from his quarters at Dharamgarh. As he could not give any satisfactory explanation regarding such huge cash, the same was seized,” Radhakrishna said.
According to the Vigilance Department, Chakma, a 2021-batch IAS officer, allegedly demanded a total bribe of ₹20 lakh and threatened to take action against the businessman’s enterprise if payment was not made.
The Vigilance Department wrote on X: “Today, Sri Dhiman Chakma, IAS (2021 batch), Sub-Collector, Dharamgarh, #Kalahandi, has been nabbed while taking a bribe of Rs. 10 Lakh from a businessman, threatening to act against his business otherwise. Further, ₹47 lakh cash was recovered during the search at his government's residence.”
It further added: “The overall bribe demanded was ₹20 lakh, & this was the 1st instalment. In this connection, Vigilance Cell PS Case No. 6 /2025 U/s 7 P. C. Act, 1988 as amended by P. C. (Amd) Act, 2018 has been registered. Investigation continues.”
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A video shared by the vigilance department showed currency notes recovered from Chakma’s residence spread out on a bed as officials continued their search.
Chakma called the complainant to his official residence
According to a vigilance statement, 2021-batch IAS officer Dhiman Chakma allegedly threatened a local businessman, demanding ₹20 lakh to avoid action against him.
The businessman reported the demand to Vigilance authorities, prompting officials to lay a trap on the night of June 8, 2025.
“Based on the complaint, a trap was laid on June 8, 2025, night, wherein accused Dhiman Chakma was nabbed by a team of Odisha Vigilance in his government quarters at Dharamgarh in Kalahandi district,” the statement said.
It added that Chakma was caught red-handed accepting ₹10 lakh — the first instalment of the bribe — which was recovered from his possession in the presence of witnesses.
The IAS officer was caught "red-handed while demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹10 lakh from a local businessman," the department said in the release.
The accused Sub-Collector called the complainant to his official government residence at Dharamgarh, received the bribe amount, verified the “26 number of 100-note bundles of different denominations with both his hands, and kept the same inside his residence office table drawer.” Both hand wash and table drawer wash “gave a positive chemical reaction,” the release said.
A case has been registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018). More details are awaited as the probe continues.
The SP said a case has been registered against IAS officer Dhiman Chakma under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.
Chakma initially joined the Odisha cadre as a 2019-batch Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer. After completing his training, he served as Additional Chief Conservator at Baripada in Mayurbhanj from June 2021.
He later cleared the civil services examination in 2021, was appointed as an IAS officer, and assigned to the Odisha cadre. Following training, Chakma took charge as Sub-Collector of Dharamgarh in Kalahandi district in January 2024, the official added.
(With PTI, ANI inputs)
