Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance sleuths on Thursday apprehended Revenue Inspector (RI) of Kakhadi Circle under Sadar Tehsil in Cuttack district, Janaki Ranjan Mallik, while he was allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000.
According to a Vigilance release, the RI was caught red-handed in his office after demanding the bribe from a landowner to submit a favourable report in a mutation case and facilitate the issuance of the Record of Rights (ROR or Patta).
It further stated that the landown
er had applied online for the mutation, but Mallik scheduled a hearing for January 27 and instructed the complainant to visit his office on January 20. During the meeting, the RI allegedly demanded Rs 10,000 to process the case. When the landowner expressed inability to pay, Mallik insisted on the bribe.
Left with no option, the complainant reported the matter to the Vigilance authorities.
Acting on the complaint, a Vigilance team laid a trap and nabbed Mallik while he was allegedly receiving the bribe amount. The entire tainted money has been recovered from his possession and seized as evidence.
Simultaneous searches are underway at three locations linked to Mallik to probe possible disproportionate assets (DA).
A case has been registered at Cuttack Vigilance police station under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018 and further investigation is underway.