Odisha Engineer Held For Demanding Rs 1 Lakh Bribe From Contractor

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance sleuths on Wednesday apprehended Sujeet Kumar Padhy, Assistant Executive Engineer of Patnagarh RW Sub-Division in Balangir district while allegedly accepting Rs 50,000 bribe.

According to a Vigilance release, the engineer had demanded illegal gratification of Rs 1 lakh for a contractor to release his final bill in connection with a government construction project executed by him. “The contractor paid the first instalment of Rs 50,000 a few days back and requested him to clear the bills. When he demanded the remaining Rs 50,000, he reported the matter to the Vigilance authority.”

Padhy was nabbed while accepting the final instalment and the entire amount was recovered from him and seized.

Following the trap, simultaneous searches are on at three locations of linked to the engineer to ascertain whether he has accumulated assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

A case has been registered against him under Section 7 of Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, and further investigation is underway, it added.