Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance on Tuesday apprehended Madhusmita Mohanty, Child Development Project Officer (CDPO), Sadar, Baleshwar, while allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000 from a vehicle owner for processing pending bills related to the hire charges of his vehicle.
According to an official Vigilance statement, Mohanty was also holding the additional charge of CDPO, Baleshwar Municipality, after the regular CDPO retired. The complainant had been providing his vehicle on a rental basis to the CDPO, Baleshwar Municipality office since 2024.
The vehicle owner had recently submitted bills for two months, June and July 2026, seeking payment of Rs 26,000 per month. Mohanty allegedly demanded Rs 5,000 from him for passing the bills to facilitate their payment.
Aggrieved by the demand, the vehicle owner approached Odisha Vigilance. Acting on the complaint, a Vigilance team laid a trap on Tuesday and allegedly caught Mohanty while accepting Rs 5,000 from the complainant.
The entire bribe amount was recovered from her possession and seized, the statement said.
Following the trap, simultaneous searches were launched at two locations linked to Mohanty as part of a disproportionate assets-related investigation.
A case has been registered at Baleshwar Vigilance Police Station under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Further investigation into the case is underway.
