Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance sleuths on Tuesday apprehended Assistant Revenue Inspector (ARI) of Nikirei RI Circle under Derabish Tehsil in Kendrapada district for
allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 12,000.
According to a Vigilance release, ARI Abhimanyu Behera had demanded the illegal gratification from a land owner to furnish a favourable verification report for conversion of agricultural land to homestead land.
“The land owner had applied online for it to the Derabish Tehsildar on October 31. After verification of the document, the land owner was asked to appear before ARI for an inquiry. However, Behera demanded a bribe of Rs.15,000 for a favourable report and reduced it to Rs 12,000 when he expressed his inability to pay the amount,” it further stated.
The land owner reported the matter to Vigilance authorities, who laid a trap and nabbed the ARI while accepting Rs 12,000. The entire bribe money was recovered and seized from him.
Simultaneous searches are being conducted at two locations linked to Behera to ascertain whether he has accumulated assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. A case has been registered under Section 7 of PC (Amendment) Act, 2018, and further investigation is underway, it added.