Former IAS Officer Vinod Kumar Convicted for 12th Time in Odisha Housing Scam
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Bhubaneswar, Odisha: A Special Vigilance Court has found former IAS officer Vinod Kumar, ex-managing director of the Odisha Rural Housing Development Corporation, and five others guilty in a high-profile housing scam case. This marks Kumar's 12th conviction in corruption cases linked to the ORHDC scam, with 15 other Vigilance cases pending against him. The six convicted individuals misused ₹52.95 lakh in government funds meant for rural housing schemes, creating fake documents and showing undue favor to private builder Sangram Keshari Sahoo. The Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar, sentenced each convict to three years of rigorous imprisonment. Kumar, a 1989 batch officer, was dismissed from service in 2022 due to corruption charges. During his tenure as ORHDC managing director in 1999, he sanctioned ₹33.34 crore in housing funds through unfair means. He was also accused of granting loans to real estate firms and NGOs without verifying construction or reconstruction after the devastating Super Cyclone in 1999. This conviction is part of 27 Vigilance cases against Kumar, with 12 convictions so far. In 2018, a Special Vigilance Court convicted Kumar for financial irregularities in ORHDC, sentencing him to three years of imprisonment.
