Two Former Engineers of Khariar NAC and Contractor Convicted in Corruption Case

Khariar, Aug 22: In a significant development in a corruption case, two former engineers of Khariar NAC, Nuapada, and a contractor have been convicted by the Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhawanipatna for alleged misappropriation of government funds in connection with road improvement and CC road works in the NAC area. The convicted persons are Umesh Chandra Tripathy, former Assistant Engineer (retired), Jayanta Narayan Panda, former Junior Engineer (retired), both of Khariar NAC, and Prasanna Kumar Mahana, contractor. According to Odisha Vigilance, the three accused were charge-sheeted under Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and Sections 420 and 120-B of the IPC in connection with alleged misappropriation of government money. On August 22, 2026, the Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhawanipatna convicted all three accused and sentenced each of them to three years of simple imprisonment along with a fine. Following the conviction, Odisha Vigilance is set to approach the competent authority for stoppage of pension of Umesh Chandra Tripathy and Jayanta Narayan Panda, both retired engineers of Khariar NAC. The case was investigated by Surendranath Raiguru, former Inspector, Vigilance, Koraput Division. Sudhir Kumar Panda and Imran Khan, Special Public Prosecutors, Vigilance, Bhawanipatna, jointly conducted the prosecution on behalf of the Vigilance department. The conviction has once again highlighted the Vigilance department’s efforts to curb corruption and protect public funds, particularly in government-funded development works.