Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance sleuths on Monday apprehended Sekhar Chandra Sahu and Tamanna Sahu, accountant and peon of Community Health Centre (CHC) at Barpali in Bargarh district respectively, while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 7,000 from a health worker.
According to a Vigilance release, a Multi-Purpose Male Health Worker (MPMHW) was recently promoted and posted at the CHC. He had been requesting the accused accountant for the past three months to process his file for sanction of increment, MACP, and arrear salary. However, the accountant along with the peon allegedly demanded the illegal gratification to facilitate the withdrawal of his pending dues.
He then reported the matter to Vigilance authorities, who then laid a trap and nabbed the duo while accepting the bribe money through PhonePe. After the initial transfer to the accountant’s account failed, the complainant transferred the bribe money to peon’s account instead.
While mobile phones of both Sahus were seized, a search is currently underway at three locations linked to the accountant to ascertain whether he has accumulated assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Vigilance officials further stated that the accused are suspected to have accepted bribes from other promoted MPMHWs, which is under verification.
