Bhubaneswar: The vigilance has apprehended two officials from Jaleswar Municipality, Balasore, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 from a contractor.
The accused officials, identified as Braja Gopal Ghose Mohapatra, Dealing Assistant-cum-MIS Coordinator, and Ratikanta Patra, Sanitation Expert, were caught red-handed by the Vigilance team on Friday.
According to reports, the contractor had approached the municipality for clearance of his pending bill for works executed under the IEC activity in Jaleswar Municipality. Despite completing the work, the contractor had been requesting Mohapatra to clear the bill for over a month. However, Mohapatra and Patra allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 10,000 to process the bill, prompting the contractor to lodge a complaint with the Vigilance authorities.
A trap was set, and the Vigilance team caught the accused officials while they were accepting the bribe. The entire amount of Rs 10,000 was recovered and seized from them. Searches are currently underway at two locations linked to Mohapatra to investigate disproportionate assets.
A case has been registered at the Balasore Vigilance PS under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. The investigation is currently underway.
