Bhubaneswar: In a swift action, the state government on Tuesday terminated the services of Manisha Mishra, an Odisha Revenue Service (ORS) officer on probation who was serving as Sub-Registrar at Baliapal in Baleshwar district following her arrest by Vigilance in a bribery case.
The termination order, issued by the Additional Chief Secretary of Revenue and Disaster Management Department, comes into force with immediate effect.
Mishra, who joined government service in 2024 and had not completed her probation period, was caught red-handed by Vigilance officers of the Baleshwar Division on November 6, 2026. She allegedly accepted Rs 7,000 as illegal gratification from complainant Gyanaranjan Patra of Village Pancharukhi, Baleshwar district, in her office chamber. The money was demanded for registering a sale deed of 0.14 acres (or 14 decimals) of land recorded as “Bajyapti Stithiban.” Under Revenue Department guidelines, such land is to be treated as Stithiban and is eligible for registration without such demands.
According to Vigilance accounts, Mishra had initially demanded Rs 10,000. When the complainant pleaded inability to pay the full amount, she reduced it to Rs 7,000. The complainant approached Vigilance, which laid a trap. The entire amount was recovered from her possession and seized. A case was registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. She was arrested on November 7 and remanded to jail custody till November 20, 2026. Simultaneous searches were launched at locations linked to her for possible disproportionate assets.
The government order notes that the GA (Vigilance) Department informed the Revenue Department of the facts via letter dated November 7, 2026. Citing the gravity of the charges of demanding and receiving illegal gratification — described as gross misconduct and personal immorality in direct violation of the Odisha Government Servants Conduct Rules, 1959 — the Appointing Authority concluded that her further continuance in service was “highly detrimental to public interest.”
As she had not completed probation under Rule-17(1) of the ORS (Recruitment) Rules, 2011, and Rule-3(1) of the Odisha Revenue Service, Group-B (Probation and Departmental Examination) Rules, 2016, the department exercised powers under Rule-17(2) of the recruitment rules read with the relevant probation provisions to terminate her services with immediate effect from the date of the order.
The case had already prompted a strong response from the department’s leadership. Additional Chief Secretary Arabinda Kumar Padhee had earlier expressed deep anguish over the arrest of the young officer over bribery and urged all employees to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to corruption, calling the incident a “serious wake-up call” for ethics, integrity, and transparency in public service.
