Bhubaneswar: A Senior Revenue Assistant (SRA) of Morada Block in Mayurbhanj district was caught red-handed by Odisha Vigilance on Friday while allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹2,000 from a retired Panchayat official in exchange for processing arrear salary dues.
According to the Vigilance Directorate, the accused officer, Partha Sarathi Chel, had been allegedly delaying the arrear salary file of the complainant—who retired in February 2023—despite repeated requests. Chel had reportedly demanded a bribe of ₹2,000 to clear the drawal of arrears, prompting the complainant to approach Vigilance authorities.
Acting on the complaint, a team of Odisha Vigilance laid a trap and apprehended Chel while he was receiving the bribe amount. On spotting the Vigilance officers, Chel attempted to dispose of the tainted cash by throwing it into a dustbin inside the office, but the team immediately secured and recovered the full amount.
Following the trap, simultaneous searches are underway at two locations linked to Chel to examine assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The Balasore Vigilance Division has registered case under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018 against the accused. Further investigation is in progress.
