Bhubaneswar: A panchayat executive officer was arrested by vigilance officials in Puri district for allegedly accepting bribe from a man to include names of his family members in the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECS) list.
Bhagaban Rath, the panchayat executive officer of Alugum grama panchayat under Satyabadi block, was caught red-handed accepting an illegal gratification of Rs 20,000 Saturday, vigilance sources said.
The name of the complainant, Niranjan Biswal, was included in the SECS list, but the name of his wife and children were not included in that list. Biswal had contacted the PEO for the inclusion of the name of his family members in the SECS list based on 2011 Census, they said.
Rath assured him of including the names of his family members and also assured him of allotment of a house under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and demanded Rs 20,000 as bribe for the purpose, they said.
Biswal agreed to pay the amount but reported the matter to the vigilance officials for taking action.
Accordingly, a trap was laid and Rath was caught by the vigilance officers in his office room located at Satyabadi Block Office.
The money was recovered from his possession and seized in the presence of witnesses, the sources said.
Rath was arrested and a search was carried out at his residential house at Puri.
