RI caught while taking bribe

Angul: The Odisha Vigilance department on Thursday arrested a Revenue Inspector (RI) while he was accepting Rs 6,000 as bribe from a landowner in Angul district. The arrested RI has been identified as Surendra Kumar Dash of Tusar circle under Athmallik tehsil in Angul district. He was arrested while taking the second and final instalment of his overall bribe demand of Rs 10,000 from the landowner inside the campus of the RI office at Kiakata.

The landowner had applied for demarcation of his plots on November 24. On January 5, when he went to meet the RI, Dash demanded Rs 10,000 to initiate his application and clear it. The complainant paid Rs 2,000 as first instalment to the officer.

Later, the final bribe amount was reduced to Rs 6,000 after the landowner expressed his inability to pay the full amount. Aggrieved, the complainant approached the Vigilance authorities, leading to a trap and the arrest of the RI. On seeing the Vigilance team, the RI threw away the bribe amount of Rs 6,000 through the window of the rest room. The entire bribe money has been recovered.

The anti-corruption department registered a case at Cuttack Vigilance police station under the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.