Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance sleuths on Monday recovered and seized Rs 14.33 lakh in cash from the house of a traffic inspector in Sundaragada after nabbing him while accepting a bribe of Rs 20,000.
Mukesh Kumar Mishra, Traffic Inspector (OMVD) posted at the office of the Regional Transport Officer in Sundaragada, was caught red-handed in his office room by a Vigilance team while taking Rs 20,000 from a truck owner for allowing his two Hyva trucks to operate without any obstacle under his jurisdiction for last two months in June and July as monthly quota.
Unable to meet the demand, the truck owner lodged a complaint with the Vigilance authorities. A trap was laid during which the entire bribe money was recovered from Mishra’s possession in the presence of witnesses. A chemical test of his right-hand wash returned positive, confirming that he had handled the tainted currency.
Following which, simultaneous searches were conducted at three locations linked to the accused: his residential house at Srikrishna Bihar near Bijaya Talkies in Sundargarh town, his native house at Ward No. 19, Shanti Nagar near the railway station in Baragada town, and his office chamber. The cash haul of Rs 14.33 lakh was unearthed from the Sundargarh residence.
Mishra, who joined government service on August 6, 2015, as a Traffic Sub-Inspector and later worked at stations including Talcher, Balangir and Nuapada before being promoted as Inspector in July 2022, has been arrested and will be produced before the court.
A case has been registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, and further investigation is underway, it added.