CDPO caught while accepting Rs 12000 bribe from Anganwadi centre staff in Odisha

The Odisha Vigilance sleuths on Wednesday apprehended Sandhyarani Panigrahi, the Beguniapada Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) in Ganjam district while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 12,000 from a staff of an Anganwadi centre.

As per the allegations, Panigrahi had allegedly demanded the money from the staff for the release of arrear remuneration.

The Vigilance officials informed that the entire tainted bribe money has been recovered and seized from the possession of  accused CDPO, Sandhyarani Panigrahi. 

Following the trap, simultaneous house searches were carried out at three locations linked to the CDPO from disproportionate assets (DA) angle, the Vigilance said in a release.

Meanwhile, Berhampur Vigilance has registered a case under section 7 PC (Amendment) Act, 2018 against the CDPO and further investigation is underway.

Earlier in the day, the Odisha Vigilance sleuths conducted simultaneous raids at seven places including the office and residence of Padmanav Hota, a Junior Mining Officer (JMO) in Keonjhar, on charges of amassing properties disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Multiple teams of the anti-corruption agency carried out the raids on the properties of Hota and his relatives located in Bhubaneswar, Keonjhar, Jajpur and Bhawanipatna.

It is worth mentioning that the Odisha Vigilance has so far arrested several government officials in connection with DA cases following the formation of the new BJP government in the state. The Mohan Majhi-led government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy for corruption.