A Special Vigilance Court on Thursday sentenced Cuttack-Barabati Congress MLA Mohammed Moquim to three years in jail in connection with the Odisha Rural Housing and Development Corporation (ORHDC) corruption case instituted in March 2005.
However, the Congress leader soon got bail and claimed to move the Orissa High Court.
The court also found former ORHDC Managing Director Vinod Kumar, Metro Builders director Piyush Mohanty and ORHDC Company Secretary Swosti Ranjan Mohanty guilty and pronounced a three-year jail term to each.
Besides, the court ordered all four convicts to pay a fine of Rs 50,000 each. In default, they would undergo an additional six-month rigorous imprisonment.
The judge pronounced the verdict after examining 17 witnesses.
According to the case diary, Vinod Kumar and Swosti Ranjan had sanctioned a loan of Rs 1.50 crore to the Metro Builders for the Metro City-II project at Nayapalli in Bhubaneswar for construction of 50 flats.
During investigation, it came to light that documents like BDA plan, project estimate, fire-prevention certificate submitted by the Metro Builders were forged and fabricated and such documents were used as genuine for availing the loan. The loan was disbursed without sufficient and adequate security.
In his reaction, Moquim said that in this case, he has been made a target because he is in politics. He is already under bail and would challenge the Vigilance Court’s verdict in the High Court.
