[Watch] ‘There Was Pressure On Me From Odisha’s Health Minister,’ Says Additional Tehsildar Arrested On Graft Charges In Sambalpur

Sambalpur: Sarada Maharana, Additional Tehsildar of Kuchinda, was arrested on Sunday on charges of accepting a bribe of Rs 1.2 lakh. She has been sent to judicial custody till May 21.

Odisha Vigilance sleuths on Saturday apprehended her while she was accepting the bribe to reduce the penalty on a seized vehicle.

Speaking to mediapersons, Sarada said that she was being harassed. “If you have seen my past record, I have carried out a lot of enforcement because of which I have made enemies. This was a big case. There was a lot of pressure on me from state Health Minister Naba Kishore Das. This Vigilance action has been taken against me only to harass me.”

Asked about the Rs 1.2 lakh she was taking while she was nabbed, she said that it was part of the penalty and claimed that everything was on record and that the complainant had also given an undertaking.

Following Saturday’s Vigilance trap, simultaneous searches were conducted on her residential quarter at Kuchinda, her father-in-law’s house at Nayapatna in Chandbali, Bhadrak district, and parental house at Ambedkarnagar in Uditanagar, Rourkela.

During searches, the assets unearthed include:

* Rs 3,03,610 cash

* One plot measuring an area Ac 0.165.28 dec vide plot No1014/2062 at Niali, Adaspur, Dist-Cuttack worth Rs 46 lakh. Undervaluation of the plot during registration is suspected.

* One plot measuring an area Ac 0.117 dec vide plot No-145, 146, 147 at Niali, Adaspur, Dist-Cuttack worth Rs 7.5 lakh. Undervaluation of the plot during registration is suspected.

* One plot measuring an area Ac 0.07 dec vide plot No-344/P, Khata No-207 at Kuanrmunda, Sundargarh worth Rs.2.5 lakh. Undervaluation of the plot during registration is suspected.

* Bank and Insurance deposits worth over Rs 12.93 lakh.

* Four-wheeler (Swift VXI) worth Rs 6.40 lakh.