Odisha Government Dismisses Revenue Officer Over Bribery Charges

Bhubaneswar, November 10 (Daily Kiran) : The Odisha government has taken decisive action against corruption by terminating the probationary service of revenue officer Manisha Mishra on Tuesday. This move aligns with the state’s zero-tolerance policy towards corruption in government offices.

Mishra, who was serving as a sub-registrar in Balasore district, was arrested for accepting a bribe from a local resident, Gyanaranjan Patra. The incident occurred on November 6, when Mishra was caught red-handed by vigilance department officials while demanding a bribe in exchange for facilitating the registration of Patra’s land and issuing a sale deed.

Following the arrest, the General Administration (Vigilance) department in Cuttack formally informed the Revenue and Disaster Management department about the case on November 7. Based on Patra’s complaint, a case was registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, on November 5 at the Balasore Vigilance police station. Mishra was subsequently arrested and presented in court, where she was remanded to judicial custody until November 20.

The government noted that Mishra had not yet completed her probationary period. Her actions were deemed a serious case of corruption, which constitutes gross misconduct and personal immorality. This also violated Rule 3 of the Odisha Government Servants Conduct Rules, 1959. Given the severity of the allegations, the appointing authority determined that her continued service would be detrimental to the public interest.

In a statement, the Revenue and Disaster Management department declared, “Now, exercising powers under Rule 17(2) of the Odisha Revenue Service (Recruitment) Rules, 2011, and Rules 3(2) and 3(3)(a) of the Odisha Revenue Service, Group-B (Probation and Departmental Examination) Rules, 2016, the services of Manisha Mishra are terminated with immediate effect from the date of this order.”