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Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has suspended Tehsildar of Bamra in Odisha’s Sambalpur district, Aswini Kumar Panda, following his arrest in a bribery case.

The 2019-batch Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) topper was caught taking Rs 15,000 bribe through his office driver in a land conversion case and subsequently arrested on September 12.

The Revenue department placed him under suspension due to his prolonged detention in jail for more than 48 hours. “Whereas Sambalpur Vigilance P.S. Case No. 17 dated 11.09.2025 against Aswini Kumar Panda, OAS-A(JB), ex-Tahasildar, Bamra Tahasil, Dist- Sambalpur in respect of Criminal Offence is under investigation, and whereas, the said Panda was arrested on 12.09.2025 and detained in jail custody for a period exceeding forty-eight hours,” the office order read.

“Now, therefore, Panda is deemed to have been suspended with effect from the date of detention i.e. dated 12.09.2025 in terms of Sub-Rule (2) of Rule-12 of the OCS (CC&A) Rules, 1962, and shall remain under suspension until further orders,” it added.

The 33-year-old officer had topped the Odisha Civil Services (OCS) exam in his first attempt in 2019. He allegedly demanded a Rs 20,000 bribe from a land owner for the conversion of agricultural land to homestead land. When he expressed his inability to pay the large sum, Panda reduced the bribe amount to Rs 15,000. His office driver, P Praveen Kumar, was caught red-handed while collecting the bribe on his behalf in his office.

The anti-corruption officials recovered Rs 4.73 lakh in cash along with gold jewellery and land-related documents from his residence at Jayadev Vihar in Bhubaneswar during subsequent searches to ascertain whether he has accumulated assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Arrest of young officers on corruption charges warning for others: CM

While addressing newly appointed government employees at a ‘Nijukti Mela’ (appointment fair) here on Monday, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said that the recent arrest of young officers on corruption charges should serve as a warning for other employees.

“I may sound harsh but the fact remains that young officers were found involved in corruption. Keeping in view of his top position, it was expected that Aswini Kumar Panda would serve the people with dedication. However, he was arrested on corruption charges. This should serve as a warning to everyone,” he said, asserting that his administration is adhering to its policy of “zero tolerance for corruption”.

He also mentioned another 2021-batch IAS officer Dhiman Chakma (2021 batch), who was caught red handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 10 lakh from a businessman in Kalahandi district this June. “Panda and Chakma indulged in corruption despite availing all the facilities provided by the government,” he added.