Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance on Monday apprehended an assistant engineer of Badachana Block in Jajpur district and her associate for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 35,000 for releasing a security deposit and clearing pending bills, an official release said.
The accused were identified as Bandita Dash, Assistant Engineer (AE), Badachana Block, and Somonath Sethy, a private person.
According to the Vigilance release, the executant engaged for completion of construction work of a school in Badachana Block had submitted bills for payment. When he sought release of the security deposit and clearance of the pending bills, Dash allegedly demanded Rs 35,000 as bribe for processing the payments.
The complainant subsequently approached the Vigilance authorities, alleging harassment by the AE.
Acting on the complaint, a Vigilance team laid a trap on Monday and apprehended Dash and Sethy while allegedly accepting the bribe from the complainant.
The entire tainted amount of Rs 35,000 was recovered from the accused and seized, the release said.
Following the trap, simultaneous searches are underway at three locations linked to Dash as part of a disproportionate assets (DA) inquiry.
A case has been registered at Kataka Vigilance Police Station under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Investigation into the alleged bribery case against Dash and Sethy is underway.
