Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance seized a total of Rs 4,07,310 in cash following the arrest of Bibhuti Bhusan Pradhan, Assistant Fisheries Officer (AFO) of Biramaharajpur, Subarnapur district, and Babulal Barik, a private individual, for demanding and accepting a Rs 30,000 bribe from a Women’s Self-Help Group (WSHG). The bribe was sought to release the second phase subsidy under the “Carp Grow-out in GP Tank by WSHG” scheme.
According to an official press release, the operation unfolded after the WSHG complainant reported that Pradhan initially demanded Rs 45,000 to process the subsidy. When she expressed her inability to pay, Pradhan reduced the amount to Rs 30,000. Left with no choice, she alerted the Vigilance authorities, who laid a trap on May 1, 2025. The team caught Pradhan and Barik red-handed in Pradhan’s office while accepting the bribe, recovering the entire Rs 30,000 in the presence of witnesses.
Subsequent searches uncovered additional cash: Rs 3,58,700 from Pradhan’s rented residence in Sonepur and Rs 48,610 from a personal search of Barik. The total cash seizure amounted to Rs 4,07,310. Searches were launched at Pradhan’s native village home in Dalakasahi, under Odagaon police limits in Nayagarh district, and his office chamber to investigate potential disproportionate assets.
Both accused, Pradhan, who joined government service on March 20, 2023, as AFO in Biramaharajpur, and Barik, have been arrested and will be produced in court. A case has been registered at Sambalpur Vigilance police station on April 30 under Sections 7/12 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, and the investigation is underway.
