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The vigilance police in Orissa Friday arrested Debraj Mishra, IAS officer and former district collector of Bolangir on charges of tampering the answer papers of candidates in recruitment of revenue inspectors, assistant revenues inspectors and amins.
Inspector general of police in vigilance, Arun Sarangi said Mishra’s house in Bhubaeswar was being searched for more evidence. A case under Prevention of Corruption Act and other section of IPC would be lodged against him, he said. Mishra was suspended in September this year from the post of director of OBC, SC/ST Department over his involvement in the recruitment scam.
However, Mishra in collusion with other senior and subordinate officials of the district allegedly tampered the marks of several candidates who scored poorly in the examination. After the results were out, some candidates got the answer sheets under RTI Act and found that a candidate who got nil marks, managed to pass the examination. The marks in some answer sheets were rewritten. In the case of one candidate the mark was changed from two to 93 out of 100 in computer knowledge subject.
A vigilance probe later revealed that after the examination was over, the answer sheets were not kept in a strongroom, but at the the Mishra’s residence. In some answer sheeets, the signature of invigilators were found to be different from persons who actually supervised the examination.
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Though the State CID also investigated the case and filed an FIR against Mishra and five other officials including deputy collector Anita Panda, tehsildar Binod Bihari Dash, BDOs Raghunath Mundari and Ripunath Suna and senior clerk Niranjan Tripathy, the State government later handed over the case to vigilance department.
Officials said the the entire recruitment process would soon be cancelled.
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