Nabarangpur: Vigilance sleuths on Thursday apprehended a Programme Assistant of Block Social Security Office at Umerkote in Odisha’s Koraput district for allegedly taking Rs 5000 bribe from a man to process his application for payment under National Family Benefit Scheme.
The accused, identified as Birbal Satnami, demanded and accepted Rs 5,000 from the man for processing his application and facilitating release of payment towards death benefit under Jatiya Paribar Mangal Yojana, a Vigilance release said.
The entire bribe money has been recovered from the accused and seized.
The complainant, a BPL card holder whose father was the sole earning member of the family, had expired on November 11, 2019. After knowing about the scheme, he applied in November 2022 for the monetary benefit of Rs 20,000 as entitled under the scheme.
Since then, the complainant was approaching Satnami to get his work done but in vain. Finding no other way, he informed the Vigilance officials and accordingly, Satnami was nabbed while accepting the bribe amount.
Following the trap, simultaneous house searches are going on at two locations of Satnami from Disproportionate Assets angle.
A case has been registered and investigation is in progress.
