Bhubaneswar: Vigilance sleuths arrested Divisional Accounts Officer Suraj Prasad Jaiswal and Senior Assistant Naresh Pattanaik from the Office of the Superintendent Engineer, Minor Irrigation, Gajapati, for taking a bribe of Rs. 30,000.
According to reports, the duo demanded a bribe from a contractor in exchange for clearing pending bills worth Rs 32 lakh for work orders amounting to over Rs 86 lakh. The contractor was issued three work orders and one work order in the name of his relative.
The accused officials were demanding Rs. 30,000, with each taking Rs. 15,000, for clearing the bills through UPI transaction and promising to clear the remaining bills after the work was completed.
Upon being informed by the complainant, the vigilance authorities laid a trap and caught both officials red-handed while accepting the bribe of Rs. 15,000 each through UPI transaction. The receipt of the bribe money has been established, and simultaneous searches are being conducted at two locations associated with each accused to investigate disproportionate assets.
A case has been registered at Berhampur Vigilance Police Station (Case No. 5/2025) under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. An investigation is currently underway against the accused officials.
