Bhubaneswar: The additional tehsildar of Belaguntha tehsil in Ganjam district was arrested by the Vigilance team today for demanding and accepting a bribe from a tractor owner.
The officer, Kabiraj Sethi, had detained the tractor, loaded with sand, on February 5, without recording it and demanded a bribe for its release despite the owner submitting necessary documents.
The complainant paid Rs 30,000 as tax/cess and Rs 10,000 as bribe to Sethi, who was caught red-handed by the vigilance team. The entire tainted money has been recovered and seized. The verification of challans is underway due to discrepancies in customer and office copies.
Simultaneous searches are being conducted at two locations linked to Sethi under the Disproportionate Assets (DA) angle. A case (Berhampur Vigilance P.S case No.01 dt.11.2.2026 u/s 7 P.C (Amendment)Act, 2018) has been registered against him.
