Ashwini Kumar Panda, the Tehsildar of Bamra in Sambalpur, Odisha, was apprehended by the Anti-Corruption Department (Vigilance) team on Friday while accepting a bribe. Panda allegedly demanded 20,000 rupees from a farmer to convert agricultural land into residential land in a mutation case.
Following a complaint, vigilance officers set a trap and caught the Tehsildar red-handed with his driver, P. Pravin Kumar, while accepting a bribe of 15,000 rupees. Both were taken into custody, and the entire bribe amount was seized. 29-year-old Ashwini Panda was once considered among the promising officers of Odisha. He passed the Odisha Civil Service examination without any coaching and became a Tehsildar, but now faces serious charges of bribery.
Ashwini hails from Kheterpal village in the Dharmasala block of Jajpur. He completed his primary education from Janakalyan High School and then did his plus two in science from Ravenshaw University. After that, he pursued a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from a private college in Brahmapur in 2015. After becoming an engineer, he went to Delhi, where he worked in a private company for three years. Then, in 2018, he left his job and returned to Odisha to prepare for government service.
Initially, he took the Assistant Section Officer (ASO) exam, in which he failed by only 0.5 marks. After this, he started preparing for the Odisha Civil Service examination. The preliminary examination of 2019 was held in March, while the main examination was conducted later due to the COVID pandemic. Despite all the obstacles, he achieved success and took steps towards becoming an ideal officer.
However, the same officer now faces serious charges of corruption. During the raid, the vigilance team recovered 4.73 lakh rupees in cash from his residence. According to the officials, the investigation is underway to determine where and how this amount was obtained. The man who was considered an example of hard work, dedication, and self-confidence is now entangled in corruption charges. There is anger among the public and on social media regarding this incident.