Odisha forest dept staff nabbed by Vigilance for accepting bribe for pension papers

Odisha Vigilance on Wednesday apprehended a junior assistant of Nicolson Forest Training School, Champua, in Keonjhar district while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 from a retired employee.

The accused, identified as Rupchand Nayak, Jr., Assistant in the office of the Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF), was caught red-handed while taking the bribe money for preparing the complainant’s final pension papers and arrear salary bill.

According to vigilance officials, the complainant, a retired staffer of the training school, had been pursuing his pension-related documents since his voluntary retirement in 2024. 

Despite repeated requests, Nayak allegedly demanded Rs 30,000 to process the papers. Aggrieved by the delay and harassment, the retiree reported the matter to the vigilance authorities, following which a trap was laid.

During the operation, the vigilance team recovered the entire bribe amount from Nayak’s possession. Simultaneous searches are being conducted at two locations linked to him to ascertain disproportionate assets.

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In this connection, Balasore Vigilance PS Case No. 09/2025 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018 has been registered. Investigation is underway, officials confirmed.