GWD Geologist Held For Demanding Rs 50K Bribe In Odisha’s Balangir

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance sleuths on Wednesday apprehended Ground Water Development (GWD) geologist Ashim Anshuman Nayak while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 40,000.

The accused is posted at the office of Deputy Director, Geology, GWD Division, in Balangir.

According to a Vigilance release, the geologist had demanded an illegal gratification of Rs 50,000 from a consultant to facilitate the release of his consultancy fee under ‘Chhata’ scheme of the Odisha government for rooftop water harvesting. He asked him to pay Rs 10,000 in first instalment to process his file a few days back. Following which, the consultant lodged a complaint with the Vigilance authorities on August 13 and accordingly, a trap was laid to nab him while accepting the remaining Rs 40,000.

The entire bribe money was recovered from Nayak and seized.

Simultaneous searches are currently on at three locations linked Nayak to ascertain whether he has accumulated assets disproportionate to his known sources of income, it added.