TV
A team of the Odisha Vigilance arrested two government officials from Rayagada district on Monday while they were allegedly accepting Rs 80,000 in cash from a tribal woman to issue her Anganwadi appointment letter.
The accused have been identified as Sushila Sabar, the Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) of Bisamcuttack block in Rayagada district, and Ram Chandra Patra, a clerk-cum-accountant posted under her.
The complainant, Seeta Wadeka, belongs to the Dongria Kondh community, a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG), and hails from Huteshi village under Chatikona panchayat, where she was recently selected as an Anganwadi worker for her own village, but was allegedly asked to pay Rs 1 lakh to receive her official appointment.
Digital Trail Leads to Vigilance Trap
On June 20, Patra allegedly received Rs 20,000 from Seeta through a UPI transaction as the first instalment of the bribe. He then asked her to pay the remaining Rs 80,000 in cash by June 23 to finalise her appointment. Instead of complying, Seeta approached the Koraput Vigilance Division and filed a formal complaint.
Acting on her input, a trap was laid by Vigilance officials. The two accused were caught red-handed while accepting the remaining Rs 80,000 in Rayagada. The entire bribe amount was recovered from their possession and seized as evidence.
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Repeat Offender Among Accused, Raids Underway
Preliminary checks revealed that clerk Ram Chandra Patra has a history of financial misconduct. During his earlier posting as a Nazir in the Rayagada Tahsildar office, he was reportedly booked for misappropriation of government funds.
Vigilance teams have since launched simultaneous searches at multiple locations linked to both Sabar and Patra to determine if they possess disproportionate assets beyond their known income sources.
Both officials are currently being interrogated at the Vigilance office, and further details about possible links to similar offences are expected to emerge.
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Meanwhile, a case has been registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, at the Vigilance Police Station in Koraput, and a further probe is on, said reports.
