Bhubaneswar: Vigilance sleuths apprehended Gopal Krishna Pradhan, Senior Revenue Assistant (SRA) of Baripada Municipality in Mayurbhanj district, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹10,000.
The arrest was made while Pradhan was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe from a complainant seeking to process an application for a stall allotment in the municipality’s market complex.
According to the Odisha Vigilance, the complainant had submitted an application in January 2025 for the allotment of a stall in his name. Despite repeated requests over the past four months, Pradhan allegedly delayed the process and demanded ₹10,000 to initiate action on the application.
Frustrated by the harassment, the complainant approached the Vigilance authorities, prompting a sting operation.
On Friday afternoon, Vigilance officials nabbed Pradhan while he was accepting the bribe amount at Baripada. The entire sum of ₹10,000 was recovered from his possession and seized as evidence.
Following the trap, simultaneous searches are underway at two locations linked to Pradhan to investigate potential disproportionate assets (DA).
A case has been registered against Pradhan under Balasore Vigilance PS Case No. 5/2025, charged under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.
The investigation is ongoing, with authorities probing further details of the case.
