Sarpanch & Her Husband Caught Taking Rs 20K Bribe In Odisha’s Angul

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance sleuths on Tuesday apprehended Mamali Samal, sarpanch of Susuba gram panchayat under Kaniha block in Angul district, and her husband, Sisira Samal, while allegedly accepting 20,000 bribe.

According to a Vigilance release, the sarpanch had allegedly demanded the illegal gratification from a beneficiary for facilitating release of pending wage bill of labourers engaged in digging of his pond under a MGNREGS project. “Sisira Samal was nabbed while accepting the bribe in the office chamber of PEO in presence of the sarpanch. The entire bribe money has been recovered from them and seized,” it said.

Following the trap, simultaneous searches are on at two locations linked to the sarpanch to ascertain whether she has accumulated assets disproportionate to her known sources of income.

A case has also been registered against her under Section 7 of Prevention of Corruption(Amendment) Act, 2018, and further investigation is underway, it added.