‘Corrupt’ IAS official’s properties confiscated in Orissa

The Orissa government on Monday confiscated properties worth crores of rupees, allegedly obtained through fraudulent means, of a retired IAS officer - the first such seizure in the state under the Orissa Special Courts Act, 2006. 

The sate vigilance department confiscated a double-storey building, a farmhouse and nine plots belonging to Ramesh Chandra Behera, a 1979-batch IAS officer. 

Though the Orissa Act came years before Bihar started one, it could not be implemented due to legal wrangles. The Act allows confiscation of properties of corrupt officials and ministers before trial begins. 

Behera, against whom a case was lodged in the early 90s for amassing wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income, was then accused by the state vigilance police of accumulating assets worth Rs4.8 lakh. 
The current value of the properties runs into crores, vigilance officials said in Bhubaneshwar. 

A number of corruption cases were pending against Behera till his retirement in May 2010. He was posted as officer without duty for over four years like several other officers. 

Director of state vigilance Anup Patnaik said the delayed trial against Behera started a month ago and it would take about a month for the judicial process to get over.