Odisha Vigilance Arrests OAS Officer Absconding for 17 Years in Corruption Cases
Dhenkanal: Odisha Vigilance today arrested an Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) officer, who had been evading authorities for the past 17 years in multiple corruption cases.
The officer, Binay Kumar Garnaik, was serving as the Special Land Acquisition Officer (LAO) for the Lower Suktel Irrigation Project in Balangir, went absconding in 2008 after being booked in at least 12 cases of corruption. He was apprehended from his native Kankadasoda village under Parjang police limits in Dhenkanal.
According to the Vigilance Department, Garnaik and his associates misappropriated ₹38.24 lakh through fraudulent bills for vehicle rentals, photocopying and lamination of land records. Additionally, he was accused of making excess payments in land compensation, causing a financial loss of ₹6.23 crore to the government. Another charge involved illegal land compensation payments, leading to a ₹35.22 lakh loss to the public exchequer.
The remaining nine cases against him pertain to excessive compensation payments linked to the Lower Suktel Irrigation Project. Non-bailable warrants had been issued against him, but he remained on the run, frequently changing locations to evade arrest.
Acting on a tip-off, a Vigilance team tracked him down in his village and arrested him. He was later produced before the Special Vigilance Judge in Balangir.
