Bhawanipatna: Odisha Vigilance officials on Wednesday apprehended Sitakanta Rana, Principal of Odisha Adarsh Vidyalaya (OAV) at Thuamul Rampur in Kalahandi district, while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000.
According to vigilance sources, Rana demanded the bribe from a functionary of a Self-Help Group (SHG) to clear pending bills related to cleaning works for three months in the current financial year 2026-27. The complainant had been repeatedly requesting the release of the payments, but the principal allegedly insisted on the bribe for processing the bills.
Unable to meet the demand and facing continued harassment, the SHG functionary approached the vigilance authorities. Acting on the complaint, a vigilance team laid a trap and caught Rana red-handed while he was accepting the bribe money. The entire amount of Rs 10,000 in tainted cash was recovered from his possession and seized as evidence.
Following the trap, simultaneous searches were carried out at two locations linked to the accused to probe his disproportionate assets (DA). A case has been registered at Koraput Vigilance police station under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, and further investigation is underway.
