Bhubaneswar (PTI): The vigilance department of Odisha government has registered a total of 200 criminal cases and arrested 181 people including government officials during the year 2024, an official statement said.

Of the 181 people arrested by the vigilance department, 37 were class-I officers, 27 class-II officers, 85 class-III, one class-IV employee, 10 other public servants and 21 private persons during the year, the statement issued on Tuesday said.

A total of 200 cases were registered in 2024, of which, 60 cases were instituted for acquisition of disproportionate assets (DA) against 66 public servants and 36 private persons and unearthed properties worth over Rs 131 crore, it said.

The vigilance department had registered 96 trap cases in 2024, in which 115 people including 99 government officers were trapped while demanding and taking bribes worth Rs 19.25 lakh.

During the year, 44 misappropriation cases relating to misappropriation of public money were registered against 91 people, including 65 public servants and 26 private people, involving misappropriation of public funds amounting to about Rs 14.87 crore, the vigilance said.

Informing about the investigation of the corruption cases, the anti-corruption wing said it has carried out searches at over 483 locations, freezed 792 bank accounts of corrupt public servants, evaluated 194 buildings/projects in 72 valuation cases worth Rs 27.03 crore and 38 spouses were also brought in the ambit of investigations as co-accused in DA cases.

During the year 2024, investigations were completed in 307 cases and recorded the highest-ever disposal rate of 154 per cent. As many as 25 government functionaries were dismissed from service following their conviction in the vigilance cases, it said.

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Riyadh (AP): Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th Saudi Pro League goal as Al-Nassr beat Al-Shabab 4-2 to move five points clear at the top of the table.

The 41-year-old forward converted a Sadio Mané cross at the near post with 15 minutes remaining to record the 971st goal of his career on Thursday. It was also his 26th league goal of the season.

“Ronaldo is always dangerous going forward and we saw that again today,” Al-Nassr coach Jorge Jesus said.

João Félix, signed from Chelsea in July, scored three goals for the league leaders.

The win took Al-Nassr to 82 points from 32 games, five ahead of Al-Hilal, which has three matches, one more than Nassr, left to play. Al-Hilal meets Al-Kholood on Friday and faces Nassr on Tuesday in what could be a title decider against its Riyadh rival.

“Now we have a derby match against our rival, which is a difficult encounter,” Jesus said.

“We are fully aware of its importance, and we are dealing with it with complete focus as we know that small details could decide the result.”

Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, has yet to secure a major trophy in Saudi Arabia since signing with Al-Nassr in December 2022.