Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance on Friday apprehended a Revenue Inspector (RI) and his associate for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 from an applicant in connection with the disposal of a land mutation case and issuance of a corrected Record of Rights (ROR).
The accused have been identified as Kishor Kumar Swain, Revenue Inspector of Madhaba Circle under Niali Tahasil in Cuttack district, and Sukanta Pradhan, a private individual.
According to an official statement issued by Odisha Vigilance, the complainant had applied online for mutation and correction of the ROR in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the Revenue and Disaster Management Department. Despite repeated requests, the application was allegedly kept pending without justification.
Vigilance officials said Swain allegedly demanded Rs 30,000 from the applicant to submit a favourable report in the mutation case and facilitate issuance of the corrected land record. When the applicant expressed his inability to pay, the official allegedly continued to insist on the payment.
Unable to resolve the matter, the applicant approached Odisha Vigilance with a complaint alleging harassment and illegal demand for money.
Acting on the complaint, a Vigilance team laid a trap and apprehended Swain and Pradhan while they were allegedly accepting the bribe amount inside the Revenue Inspector’s office. The entire cash amount of Rs 30,000 was recovered from their possession and seized.
Following the trap, simultaneous searches were launched at two locations linked to Swain to ascertain whether he possessed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Odisha Vigilance has registered Kataka Vigilance Police Station Case No. 28 dated July 30, 2026, under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Further investigation into the case is underway.
