Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance sleuths on Friday apprehended Sai Darshini Lenka, Revenue Inspector of Kaupada Circle in Kendrapada district, while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 5,500.
She had allegedly demanded the illegal gratification to process a mutation application and facilitate the issuance of Record of Rights (ROR) or land patta in favour of a complainant who had purchased a piece of land from two joint owners a few years ago.
According to a vigilance release, the complainant had filed the mutation application on June 24, 2026. Despite repeated requests to dispose of the case, Lenka allegedly demanded Rs 6,000 as bribe for submitting a favourable report and expediting the issuance of the ROR. When the applicant expressed his inability to pay the full amount, she reportedly reduced the demand to Rs 5,500.
Unable to bear the harassment, the applicant approached the Odisha Vigilance authorities with a complaint. Acting on the tip-off, a vigilance team laid a trap and caught Lenka red-handed while she was accepting the bribe money from the complainant. The entire bribe amount of Rs 5,500 was recovered from her possession and seized as evidence.
Following the trap, vigilance officials launched simultaneous searches at three locations linked to the accused Revenue Inspector to probe her disproportionate assets. A case has been registered at Kataka Vigilance police station under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, and further investigation is underway.
