Bhubaneswar: In a scene straight out of a thriller, Odisha Vigilance sleuths chased down a bribery-accused police Sub Inspector (SI) on Wednesday, pursuing him from dark streets into murky waters.
Sujit Kumar Mohanta, an SI stationed at Mahulpali police station in Sambalpur district, was caught red-handed accepting a ₹10,000 bribe, which he has demanded in a miscellaneous case registered against the complainant to settle the matter. Determined to collect the illegal gratification away from prying eyes, Mohanta summoned the complainant to a secluded location outside the police station under the cover of dusk. But Vigilance sleuths were already lying in wait.
The moment the money changed hands, he spotted the approaching Vigilance team. Realising he was cornered, the SI panicked, broke into a sprint, and launched a desperate high-speed bid to evade arrest. As Vigilance sleuths closed in, Mohanta made a final, wild attempt to escape capture by diving into a nearby pond.
Undeterred by the dark waters, a relentless Vigilance officer leaped in after him, swimming through the pond to tackle and subdue the fleeing cop right in the water.
The entire ₹10,000 bribe was recovered on the spot.
Following the dramatic arrest, Vigilance teams initiated simultaneous searches at locations linked to Mohanta to investigate potential disproportionate assets (DA) and recovered an additional ₹1,55,700 in unaccounted cash from the restroom inside the police station premises.
Mohanta, who Odisha Police Service in 2021 as a direct-recruit sub-inspector, now faces charges under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, a Vigilance release said.
