Bhubaneswar: A Junior Engineer (JE) was apprehended by Odisha Vigilance officials on Tuesday for allegedly accepting Rs 8,000 bribe from a contractor in Bargarh district.
The accused, identified as Susmita Oram who is posted at Gaisilet Block of Bargarh, was caught while demanding and taking bribe of Rs. 8,000 from a contractor. The amount was the last instalment of her overall demand of Rs 32,000 for measurement and clearing pending bill in connection with the road improvement work under MGNREGS, Vigilance said in a statement.
The estimated cost of the work is Rs 9,50,000, of which bills worth Rs 3.15 lakh had been paid earlier. The JE was demanding bribe @ 10% of the paid bill amount to clear pending bills. Out of the total demanded amount Rs 32,000, she had earlier taken Rs. 24,000 few days back and was demanding the remaining amount Rs 8,000 to clear the rest bill.
Finding no other way, the contractor approached the Vigilance authorities, alleging harassment by the JE. Following this, Vigilance officers nabbed Oram while taking remaining bribe amount Rs.8,000 from the complainant.
The entire bribe money has been recovered from the exclusive possession of accused Oram and seized.
Following the trap, simultaneous searches are going on at two locations linked to the accused JE from DA angle.
In this connection, a case has been registered and investigation is in progress.
Notably, Oram had entered into government service as JE under DRDA, Bargarh in 2024. She joined at Gaisilet Block as JE on January 29, 2024. This was her first posting.
