Bhubaneswar: In a shocking case of corruption and exploitation, the Odisha Vigilance today apprehended Sambit Tripathy, a Junior Clerk at the Block Education Officer (BEO) office in Nandapur, Koraput district, while accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000.
According to an official press release of Odisha Vigilance, this amount was the first instalment of a total Rs 30,000 bribe he had allegedly demanded to process the pension and arrear benefits of a deceased government school teacher.
The teacher, who passed away on October 27, 2019, was serving as a Primary School Teacher at the time of his death. His widow, an elderly woman, has been surviving on a meagre family pension. Despite the competent authority sanctioning the revised pension and gratuity on June 11, 2025, Tripathy allegedly deliberately delayed processing the file and demanded a bribe to move it forward.
Acting on a complaint regarding the harassment faced by the widow, Odisha Vigilance officials laid a trap and caught Tripathy red-handed while accepting the first instalment of the bribe. The tainted money of Rs 15,000 was recovered from his possession and seized as evidence.
Following the operation, simultaneous searches are being conducted at two separate locations linked to Tripathy to examine disproportionate assets (DA).
A case has been registered under Section 7 of the PC (Amendment) Act, 2018 at the Koraput Vigilance Division, and the investigation is currently underway.
