Odisha: IAS officer caught accepting Rs10 lakh bribe

In Odisha, one IAS officers has been arrested while allegedly accepted bribe of Rs 10 lakh. The Vigilance Department on Sunday caught Dhiman Chakma, a 2021 batch IAS officer, while allegedly accepting a bribe. Chakma, posted as a Sub-Collector in Kalahandi district, had demanded Rs 20 lakh from a local businessman, and was allegedly accepting a part instalment of the bribe. The businessman,  who claimed he was threatened with action if he did not pay. The businessman subsequently lodged a complaint with the Vigilance Directorate.
“The accused IAS officer called the complainant to his official government residence at Dharamgarh, received the bribe amount, verified the 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 positive chemical reaction,” said a Vigilance official. During subsequent searches at his official residence, a further Rs 47 lakh in cash has also been recovered, Vigilance said.
Chakma is a native of Kanchanpur in Tripura. After clearing UPSC, the computer science graduate from National Institute of Technology (NIT), Agartala, was posted as an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj before he made it to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). Chakma  was booked under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which relates to a public servant accepting an undue advantage and provides for 3-7 years imprisonment.