Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance on Tuesday arrested Ajay Kumar Garanaik, the Special Land Acquisition Officer assigned to the Sambalpur-Talcher Doubling Rail Line Project, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹5.10 lakh from a local landowner.
The illicit payment was demanded to release a pending compensation sum of ₹84,62,288 for land acquired for the doubling project, as well as to promise favourable terms during future land acquisitions for the proposed third railway line project.
According to anti-corruption officials, Garanaik received an initial ₹2 lakh payment from the landowner on October 27 before demanding the balance of ₹3.10 lakh. The officer allegedly threatened to obstruct future compensation proceedings for the third railway line expansion if the remaining amount was not paid immediately.
Refusing to yield to the ongoing harassment and extortion threats, the aggrieved landowner lodged a formal complaint with the Vigilance Directorate. Acting on the report, vigilance officers laid a trap near the BEd College area in Anugola and apprehended Garanaik red-handed on Monday as he accepted the balance bribe of ₹3.10 lakh from the complainant. The entire tainted cash amount was recovered on the spot and seized by the investigating team.
Following the trap operation, vigilance sleuths initiated simultaneous search operations across three properties linked to Garanaik to probe potential disproportionate assets accumulated through illegal channels.
A formal criminal case has been registered against the officer under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.