Faced with frequent incidents of witnesses turning hostile during the trial and giving false testimony to help corrupt government officials, the Directorate of Vigilance of Odisha has started initiating criminal proceedings against complaints and witnesses retracting their statements.
“In the last two years, 45 perjury (obstruction of justice) cases have been initiated by Odisha Vigilance against complainants and witnesses turning hostile during the trial. Similarly, disciplinary authorities have been approached to initiate departmental action against official (government) witnesses for giving false testimony to help the corrupt accused government officials at the time of trial,” said Yashwant Jethwa, Vigilance Director.
Upendra Bhanja Naik, an Assistant Engineer in Bargarh district, was recently dismissed for providing false evidence during trial.
