Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance sleuths on Friday apprehended Senior Revenue Assistant (SRA) of Morada block in Mayurbhanj district, Partha Sarathi Chel, while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 2,000.
According to a Vigilance release, he had demanded the illegal gratification from a former panchayat official of the block for withdrawal of his arrear. He retired in February 2023. Despite repeated requests, Chel delayed processing his arrears over the alleged bribe demand. Following which, he moved the vigilance authorities, which laid a trap and the SRA was caught red-handed accepting Rs 2,000.
He even attempted to hoodwink the Vigilance team by throwing the bribe money into the dustbin kept in the office. However, the anti-corruption agency recovered and seized the entire bribe money.
While a case has been registered under Section 7 of PC(Amendment) Act, 2018, simultaneous searches are currently underway at two locations linked to Chel to ascertain whether he has accumulated assets disproportionate to his known sources of income, it added.
