Cracking down on uncooperative witnesses, the Odisha government has fired an Assistant Engineer in the RWSS section at Bijepur in Bargarh district. The engineer, Upendra Bhanja Naik, provided false evidence during a trial to assist an accused person in a Vigilance case.
The incident took place in Sambalpur, where Naik served as a Junior Engineer in the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation section at Sohela in Bargarh. He was called upon as an official witness for the Vigilance trap against Anand Saraf, a former senior clerk in the office of the Executive Engineer, West Electrical Division, Bargarh.
Despite witnessing the bribe transaction, Naik changed his statement during the trial and provided false evidence to aid the accused, resulting in their acquittal in the case.
