Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance sleuths on Thursday apprehended Tehsildar of Soro in Balasore district, Daitari Mallik, along with his associate Dayanidhi Jena, while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 40,000 from a truck owner.
According to a Vigilance release, Mallik had seized five trucks carrying minor minerals on February 11. He allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from the owner in exchange for not handing over those vehicles to the mining department, which would have resulted in heavy penalties, and to facilitate their release.
When the truck owner expressed his inability to pay such a large sum, Mallik negotiated the amount down to Rs 40,000.
The truck owner, however, lodged a complaint with the Vigilance authorities, which laid a trap and caught his associate Jena while he was accepting the bribe money. “The entire Rs 40,000 was recovered from their possession and seized as evidence,” the release said.
Simultaneous searches are currently underway at three locations linked to Mallik to ascertain whether he has accumulated assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
A case has been registered at Balasore Vigilance police station under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, against both accused and further investigation is underway, it added.
