A Class-IV employee of the Works department in Balasore was caught red handed by the Vigilance sleuths while accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh on Friday. He was subsequently put under arrest.
The arrested employee has been identified as Padmanabha Swain. Following his arrest, the sleuths of the anti-corruption wing conducted searches at his Bagudi village residence in Soro locality.
Source said, a Class-I contractor, Rudranarayan Behera, had earlier approached Padmanabha to release his security deposit amounting to Rs 8,67,473. Padmanabha had allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from Rudranarayan to get his work done.
With no option left, Rudranarayan had sought the Vigilance department’s intervention. Subsequently a trap was laid. At a pre-decided place, when Padmanabha was receiving the demanded money, the Vigilance sleuths who were waiting in plain cloth swooped down on him.
Nevertheless, a Class-IV employee asking for a bribe of Rs 1 lakh has become the subject of discussion in the locality.
Notably, a supervisor of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) at Sinapali in Nuapada district was arrested by the Vigilance team while receiving a bribe of Rs 80,000 on November 22. Harshamani Dei, the supervisor of ICDS, was receiving the bribe money from one Bikash Ranjan Bag at a place near Sinapali bus stand for appointing him as an Anganwadi worker when she was busted by the Vigilance sleuths.