Malkangiri: Odisha Vigilance Department Tuesday arrested a revenue inspector for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 8,000 from a caste certificate applicant, officials said.
Suraj Bala, the revenue inspector of Jharapali circle in Malkangiri district, was apprehended while receiving the bribe amount from an applicant for submitting a verification report for the issuance of a Scheduled Caste certificate in favour of the complainant’s spouse, the Vigilance said in a statement.
The applicant had applied online, as per the rules prescribed by the government for issuing the caste certificate.
However, the accused official unnecessarily delayed the process and instead demanded a bribe of Rs 10,000 from the applicant. He asked the complainant to pay Rs 8,000 first and the remaining Rs 2,000 upon completion of work, it said.
Aggrieved by the demanded bribe and harassment, the complainant reported the matter to the Vigilance authorities.
In this connection, a case has been registered at Koraput Vigilance police station under the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. The same official was earlier caught while demanding and taking a bribe of Rs 15,000 in another case.
Meanwhile, a Vigilance court in Bhubaneswar convicted a former junior engineer of Odagaon block in Nayagada district in a bribery case, officials said.
Additional Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar, awarded three years of rigorous imprisonment to Chita Ranjana Parida for demanding and taking a bribe of Rs 50,000 from a contractor for clearing the final bill.
The Vigilance Department will now move the competent authority for stoppage of pension of Parida, they added.
Orissa POST – Odisha’s No.1 English Daily
