Scam / Streetlight Scam: Three Engineers Surrender in Kendujhar Vigilance Court
Key Points
Three senior engineers surrendered in Kendujhar Vigilance Court over streetlight corruption allegations. Accused of irregularities worth crores, they were granted bail as intellectuals demand deeper investigation into systemic lapses.
Kendujhar, Sep 29: The streetlight corruption case in Kendujhar district took a new turn on Monday as three senior engineers surrendered before the Kendujhar Vigilance Court. Following their surrender, they were granted bail.
The accused include Manoranjan Jena, currently posted as STS Superintendent Engineer at Tata Power, Baleshwar; Chittaranjan Mistry, Executive Engineer at Baleshwar LT&H Extension Cell; and Meenaketan Samal, Executive Engineer of Anandapur Subdivision. All three hail from Bhadrak district.
They had earlier applied for anticipatory bail in the High Court, which directed them to surrender before the Vigilance Court.
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✨The case relates to irregularities in the streetlight illumination project across Kendujhar district, including Kendujhargada, Anandapur, Joda, Barbil municipalities, and Champua notified area council.
The project was awarded to ESL Company, which subcontracted work to Aska Electronics. Allegations surfaced that instead of following contractual norms, the company executed work carelessly — failing to install independent poles in over 70% of cases, bypassing proper cabling, and connecting lines directly to electric poles using GI wires. Despite these lapses, bills amounting to ₹5.8 crore were raised.
Reports suggest that inadequate supervision by officials allowed such irregularities to occur. Allegations also include improper earthing and financial misappropriation. In Kendujhar municipality alone, corruption worth nearly ₹3 crore has been alleged.
Local intellectuals have demanded deeper investigation, arguing that the scandal exposes systemic negligence and possible collusion between contractors and officials. They believe that if corruption in rural streetlight projects is fully probed, many influential figures could be implicated.
The Vigilance Department continues its inquiry into the
matter, with further revelations expected in the coming weeks.