Two held in Odisha for extorting govt officials posing as vigilance officers

• Two individuals arrested in Odisha for impersonating vigilance officers and extorting money from government officials.
• The accused, Ganesh Prasad Nanda and Pradeep Kumar Panda, threatened officials with disproportionate assets cases and raids.
• Their arrest followed a complaint from a senior OAS officer who was extorted of Rs 4 lakh.
• The duo are habitual fraudsters, having extorted lakhs from 18-20 officials across various districts since 2021.
• Police recovered 38 debit cards, 43 bank passbooks, 37 chequebooks, and 10 mobile phones from the accused.

Why It Matters: This warns officials about widespread extortion by fake vigilance officers.