In a crackdown on corruption, the Odisha vigilance department arrested two government officials for accepting bribes in separate incidents, highlighting ongoing efforts to combat corruption in the state.
Key Points
- Odisha vigilance department arrests two government officers for accepting bribes.
- Assistant Civil Supplies Officer in Keonjhar caught taking a bribe related to paddy procurement.
- Junior engineer with National Health Mission in Sundargarh arrested for demanding bribe for releasing security deposit.
- Searches conducted at multiple locations linked to the accused officials in Odisha.
- Cases registered under the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act against the accused officials.
The Odisha vigilance department on Wednesday caught two government officers accepting bribes in separate places, officials said.
Assistant Civil Supplies Officer Arrested
Vigilance sleuths nabbed Assistant Civil Supplies Officer (ACSO), Champua, in Keonjhar district, while he was demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000 from a complainant in connection with paddy procurement done recently during the current kharif season, they said.
He was allegedly demanding bribes from other paddy procurement centres too. The bribe amount was seized from his possession. Following the trap, simultaneous searches were launched at his locations, they said.
Junior Engineer Apprehended
Similarly, a junior engineer, National Health Mission (NHM), working in the office of the chief district medical officer of Sundargarh, has been apprehended by Odisha Vigilance while demanding and taking a bribe of Rs 5,000 from a contractor.
Even after the completion of the said work by the contractor, the junior engineer was not processing the file for the release of the security deposit. Instead, he demanded a bribe of Rs 5,000.
Searches and Legal Action
Meanwhile, the anti-corruption wing officers launched simultaneous searches at three locations linked to the junior engineer.
The vigilance officials registered two separate cases at Balasore and Rourkela police stations under the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act against the two officials.
