Odisha: Medical Officer In Vigilance Net For Seeking Bribe To Issue Postmortem Report

Jajpur: Odisha Vigilance sleuths on Wednesday arrested medical officer of Danagadu Community Health Centre in Odisha’s Jajpur district, Pabitra Kumar Sethi, and security guard of the state-run healthcare centre, Abhiram Kandi, on bribery charges.

They were allegedly caught taking Rs 20,000 to issue the postmortem report of the complainant’s father, who had died on March 31 due to lightning.

According to the government scheme, an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh is awarded to the next of kin of those who die in lightning strikes and the complainant required a copy of the postmortem report to submit with the application. Sethi delayed the process and instead demanded Rs 20,000 to issue the report. Following which, the complainant approached Odisha Vigilance. A trap was then laid and the doctor was apprehended for accepting the bribe money through the security guard. The entire bribe money was recovered from him, an official release

While a case has been registered against Sethi under Section 7 of Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 1988, simultaneous searches are going on at three locations to unearth his alleged disproportionate assets.