Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance on Thursday apprehended two employees of the office of the Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies (ARCS), Titilagarh Circle in Bolangir district, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 70,000 from a retired employee for facilitating release of arrear salary under the Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP) scheme.
The accused have been identified as Anil Kumar Panda, Senior Assistant, and Herekrushna Majhi, Peon, both attached to the ARCS office at Titilagarh.
According to Vigilance officials, the retired employee, who superannuated in January 2025, had been repeatedly requesting release of his MACP arrear salary dues. However, Panda allegedly did not initiate the file process and instead demanded a bribe of Rs 1 lakh for clearing the dues.
As part of the alleged deal, Panda reportedly instructed the complainant to deposit Rs 70,000 as the first instalment into the bank account of peon Herekrushna Majhi.
Unable to bear the alleged harassment, the retired employee approached Odisha Vigilance authorities and lodged a complaint.
Acting on the complaint, a Vigilance team laid a trap and apprehended both Panda and Majhi shortly after the bribe amount of Rs 70,000 was received through bank deposit, officials said.
Following the successful trap operation, simultaneous searches are being conducted at locations linked to the accused from the disproportionate assets angle.
A case has been registered in this connection at Sambalpur Vigilance Police Station vide Case No. 06 dated May 20, 2026 under Sections 7 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.
Further investigation is underway, Vigilance officials added.
