BHUBANESWAR: The Prisons Directorate of the State on Thursday placed under suspension Susant Rout, jailor of Circle Jail at Sambalpur, from whose office chamber the police had recovered a whopping Rs 18 lakh as part of a State-wide raid on prison facilities on June 4.
ADG (Prisons) Arun Roy said Rout was suspended basing on the report of the inquiry carried out by two DIG-ranked officers. "The case has been handed over to State Vigilance for further investigation and necessary action,’’ he said. Two days after the raid, Sambalpur SP wrote to Vigilance SP of Sambalpur Division requesting for an inquiry.
In the last one year, the Prisons Directorate has handed over three cases of financial irregularities to the State Vigilance. Criminal case in one has already begun.
"We have an internal audit process. In the last one year, the audit found financial irregularities in three cases which have been handed over to the Vigilance,’’ Roy said.
The three cases relate to jails in Malkangiri, Nabarangpur and Patnagarh. Criminal case has already been registered in case of Malkangiri jail while in the other two, investigation is at advanced stages.
These actions notwithstanding, instances of financial impropriety and corruption have piled up in prisons.
During 2016-17, five criminal cases against prison officials have been registered by the State Vigilance. The cases pertain to superintendents of jails in Jajpur, Puri, Digapahandi, Malkangiri and Nabarangpur. In two cases, officials were trapped while accepting bribe while the others relate to accumulation of disproportionate assets.
Besides, six more inquiries including the three referred by the Prisons Directorate have also been undertaken by the anti-corruption wing, sources said.