Odisha Vigilance nabs 2 block education office staff in Sambalpur while accepting Rs 7,000 bribe

Odisha Vigilance on Wednesday apprehended two staffers of the Rengali Block Education Office (BEO) in Sambalpur district for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 7,000 as the first instalment of an overall demand of Rs 25,000.

The accused have been identified as Dusmanta Kumar Sahu, Junior Assistant, and Gopabandhu Sahu, Peon, of the BEO office. According to vigilance officials, Dusmanta Sahu was in the habit of regularly seeking bribes from teachers and other staff to process their legitimate claims.

In the present case, he allegedly demanded Rs 25,000 from a complainant, Rs7,000 for processing his salary and an additional Rs 18,000 for clearing arrear payments. When the complainant expressed inability to pay the full amount, Sahu agreed to accept Rs 7,000 as the first instalment. Acting on a complaint, vigilance sleuths laid a trap and caught the peon, Gopabandhu Sahu, red-handed while accepting the bribe money on behalf of the Junior Assistant.

The tainted amount of Rs 7,000 has been recovered and seized in the presence of witnesses. Following the trap, simultaneous searches are underway at three locations linked to Dusmanta Sahu and one location linked to Gopabandhu Sahu to verify disproportionate assets.

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A case under Sections 7 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, has been registered. Further investigation is in progress.