Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance sleuths on Saturday apprehended a lineman of TPCODL for allegedly taking Rs 15,000 bribe from a farmer in Cuttack district for replacement of a damaged electric pole.
The accused was identified as Dharma Niranjan Chaudhury, a lineman of Narsinghpur Electrical Section under TPCODL in Cuttack district.
As the 11KV line passed over the area and a damaged electric pole was in his land in a dangerous condition,
the farmer requested local authorities to replace it. Lineman-A Chaudhury was tasked with the work. For the change of electric pole, Chaudhury demanded a bribe of Rs 25,000/- from the farmer. On June 2, Chaudhury replaced the damaged electric pole with a new one from farmer’s land and received Rs 8,000/- via UPI transaction from the farmer. The lineman then demanded rest amount of Rs 17,000/- from the farmer and did not lift the old one from his land.
However, the farmer expressed his inability to pay the rest bribe amount Rs 17,000/-. Following negotiation, Chaudhury reduced the amount to Rs 15,000/-. Being aggrieved over the matter, the farmer informed vigilance authorities alleging harassment by the lineman.
Following this, a team of Odisha Vigilance nabbed Chaudhury while taking bribe Rs 15,000/- from the farmer. The entire bribe amount has been recovered from exclusive possession of Chaudhury and seized.
Following the trap, search is going on at one location of Chaudhury from Disproportionate Assets angle. A case has been registered and investigation is in progress.