Taking a cue from Nitish Kumar government in Bihar, the Orissa government on Wednesday converted the confiscated house of retired IAS officer Sanjib Kumar Ray, convicted in a disproportionate assets case, into a homeopathic dispensary in Bhubaneswar.
The Bihar government had converted the confiscated house of suspended IAS officer S S Verma into a school in September.
A vigilance court in January had convicted Ray of amassing ill-gotten assets and sentenced him to three years imprisonment. The court had also ordered police to confiscate his immovable property. The Orissa government on October 20 had taken possession of Ray's double-storey building at Gandamunda area.
Ray, who is out on bail, has since been staying in a rented house in Bhubaneswar, sources said. He recently moved the court seeking stay order for auction of his house.
"We have set an example by turning the confiscated house of Ray into a homeopathic dispensary. The dispensary will provide free treatment to the public at large," chief minister Naveen Patnaik said at a function of state vigilance here. Naveen said his government would a take strong stand against corrupt public servants. "The state government has decided to use the confiscated properties of corrupt officials for public purposes," he added.
Ray, who was promoted to IAS from OAS in 1997, had served as the district collector of Boudh in 1997 and vice-chairman of Cuttack Development Authority (CDA) in 2001, before retiring from service as additional secretary, state co-operation department in 2004. A case of corruption was registered against Ray on July 17, 2001, when he was vice-chairman of Cuttack Development Authority (CDA).
Residents of Gandamunda under Khandagiri police limit were pleasantly surprised to see a signboard flashing the "government homeopathic dispensary" at Ray's house. Sources said government employees had worked overnight to prepare Ray's house for the dispensary, ostensibly paving the way for Naveen to announce it at the vigilance function.
Director Indian Medicines and Homeopathy (DIMH) Mahendra Kumar Mallick said around 40 patients were treated at the new dispensary on day one. "Medicines are available free of cost. With this, we now have three homeopathic dispensaries in Bhubaneswar," Mallick said.
Notably, the vigilance court recently ordered confiscation of immovable properties of another retired IAS officer Ramesh Charan Behera and retired IPS officer Kali Charan Mohapatra.
Besides, applications for attachment of properties of a number of accused persons have been filed in different courts in 197 cases out of which orders have been passed in 80 cases. "Applications for confiscation of properties of some accused persons have been filed in 29 cases," a vigilance officer said.
Source:TNN
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