Bhubaneswar: In a major anti-corruption drive, Vigilance officials apprehended Smt. Suryakanti Pandey, Sarpanch of Nimna Gram Panchayat under Ullunda Block in Subarnapur district, while she was allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs. 20,000.
According to the vigilance team, the Sarpanch was caught today while demanding and receiving the bribe from a functionary of a Self-Help Group (SHG). The bribe was sought to sign the necessary agreement papers for pisciculture activities in the Gram Panchayat tank and to facilitate the release of subsidy from the District Fisheries Office in favour of the SHG.
The SHG had earlier taken the lease of the GP tank for five years for pisciculture purposes.
Pandey initially demanded Rs. 40,000 from the SHG functionary for the work. When the complainant expressed inability to pay the full amount, the Sarpanch allegedly reduced the demand to Rs. 20,000. Left with no other option, the SHG functionary approached the Odisha Vigilance authorities and lodged a complaint.
Acting swiftly on the complaint, a Vigilance team laid a trap and nabbed Smt. Pandey red-handed while she was accepting the bribe money. The entire tainted amount of Rs. 20,000 was recovered from her possession and seized as evidence.Following the trap, simultaneous searches are being conducted at two locations linked to the accused Sarpanch from the disproportionate assets (DA) angle.
In this connection, Sambalpur Vigilance Police Station Case No. 10 dated 04.07.2026 has been registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Investigation is underway.
