Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance on Friday arrested a Junior Revenue Assistant (JRA) of the Tahasildar’s office at Patana in Kendujhar district for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 6,000 from an applicant to process a land mutation case and facilitate issuance of the Record of Rights (RoR).
The accused was identified as B. H. Umashankar, JRA at the office of the Tahasildar, Patana.
According to an official Vigilance statement, the complainant had applied online on June 3 for mutation of his land in accordance with the rules of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department. When he subsequently enquired about the status of his case, Umashankar allegedly demanded Rs 6,000 for processing the mutation file and facilitating issuance of the RoR in the name of the applicant and his other coparceners.
Aggrieved by the demand, the applicant alerted the Odisha Vigilance authorities, following which a trap was laid on Friday.
During the trap, Umashankar was allegedly caught in his office room while demanding and accepting the Rs 6,000 bribe from the complainant. The entire bribe amount was recovered and seized from his possession in the presence of witnesses, the Vigilance said.
The chemical wash of Umashankar’s right hand and pant pocket reportedly tested positive, confirming his handling of the bribe money.
Following the trap, simultaneous searches were launched at Umashankar’s residential house at Tainsira under Patana police station limits in Kendujhar district and his office room.
The accused JRA has been arrested and will be forwarded to court, the Vigilance said.
In connection with the case, Baleshwar Vigilance Police Station has registered Case No. 17 dated August 27 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Investigation into the case is underway.
