OTV Impact: Labour Office Clerk Suspended After Being Caught On Cam Seeking Bribe

Bolangir: A clerk of the district labour office in Bolangir has been placed under suspension after he was caught on camera while demanding and accepting bribe from a person for issuing labour licence challan. The accused clerk, Ballabh Nag, has been suspended from service by the state labour commissioner after the illegal practice was exposed by OTV this morning.

According to sources, a person had applied for labour licence to legally send labourers to outside Odisha. Despite submitting all the necessary documents to obtain the licence, the accused clerk allegedly told him that it would take minimum one week for the entire procedure. Subsequently, he said no work is done without kickbacks.

The incident came to light at a time when the Odisha police is carrying out massive drive against illegal human trafficking as part of 5T initiative, which aims to transform the lives of common man by preventing their exploitation by middlemen and agents.

In the video, the clerk was seen demanding Rs 5,000 bribe. After a brief conversation between the duo, the person offered Rs 1,000 to the clerk.

#WATCH Video shot by a social activist showing clerk Ballabh Nag of Labour Department in Bolangir demanding bribe for issuing labour licence challan #Odisha pic.twitter.com/NVJFD9E1wH

— OTV (@otvnews) October 19, 2019

The story of corruption in labour department doesn't end here. Hours after the video of the clerk went viral, another video came to the fore where the Divisional Labour Commissioner (DLC) of the same office was seen demanding bribe.

The video of the DLC, Saroj Kumar Ranjito seeking bribe has gone viral on social media. In the video, Ranjito was heard saying, "We have no demands. You can give according to your wish." He was also seen trying to hide the bribe money by placing a paper on it.

#OTVExclusive: After clerk of Labour deptt, #Bolangir Divisional Labour Commissioner caught on cam seeking bribe; in a video, he was heard saying, "We have no demands. You can give as per your wish." #WATCH #5TFailure #CaughtOnCam #Odisha pic.twitter.com/DBMQRGcHWC

— OTV (@otvnews) October 19, 2019

Commenting on Ronjito' video, the State Labour Commissioner Niranjan Sahu has assured that necessary action will be taken against him after a detailed investigation.

"Nag has been suspended from duty. Only after an enquiry, we will be able to decide on taking action against divisional labour commissioner," Sahu said.

The viral videos have exposed the rampant corruption prevailing in the labour office while its network is spread from higher ranks to lower level employees, raising a question on the safety of labourers. It has also belied the tall claims of the state government on effective implementation 5T model of governance.