Bhubaneswar: In a significant development, a Special Vigilance Court in Bhubaneswar on Saturday convicted two retired Odisha government officers—Bijay Chandra Mohapatra, former Joint Secretary (OAS-I) in the Agriculture Department, and Benudhar Mohanty, former Private Secretary to the Director of Water Resources—for demanding and accepting a bribe in a passport verification case. Both have been sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) along with a fine.

The duo had earlier been chargesheeted by Odisha Vigilance under Sections 13(2) read with 13(1)(d) and 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 for demanding illegal gratification from a complainant in exchange for issuing a verification certificate required for obtaining a passport under the Tatkal scheme.

Following the

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