Peon caught while accepting bribe, engineer gives Vigilance a slip

Koraput: Vigilance sleuths on Friday arrested Satyabhanu Mallick, a peon of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation department, while he was accepting a bribe from a local contractor.

As per reports, Laxman Kumar Behera, executive engineer of the department, had demanded Rs 50,000 bribe from the contractor to pass a bill related to the construction of overhead water tank in the region. Behera had told the contractor to give the money to Mallick.

However, the contractor informed the Vigilance officials who laid a trap and caught Mallick red-handed while he was accepting the bribe and later arrested him.

"Had I been aware of this, I would not have accepted the money. The engineer had told me to receive some documents that the contractor would give and later give it to him (Behera)," said Mallick.

Meanwhile, the engineer fled when the anti-corruption officials conducted raid on his official residence.

"The engineer had demanded Rs 50,000 from the contractor to pass a bill of over-head tank. He had told his peon to accept the money and give it to him at his official residence. We have seized the money; Behera is currently absconding," informed Henry Kulu, Vigilance DSP.