Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance officials Saturday apprehended an Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police (ASI) posted at Khalikote police station in Ganjam district for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000 from a person to extend a favour in a case.
Vigilance sources said the accused ASI, identified as Sujit Panigrahi, had demanded the bribe from the complainant to help him in a case registered against him, in which Panigrahi was the investigating officer.
Unable to meet the demand, the complainant approached the Odisha Vigilance authorities and lodged a complaint.
Acting on the complaint, a Vigilance team laid a trap and apprehended Panigrahi while he was allegedly accepting the bribe of Rs 15,000 from the complainant inside the Khalikote police station campus.
The entire tainted bribe amount of Rs 15,000 was recovered from the possession of the accused ASI and seized, the sources said.
Following the trap, simultaneous searches were underway at two locations linked to Panigrahi in connection with a disproportionate assets (DA) angle, the sources added.
A case under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, has been registered against Panigrahi at the Brahmapur Vigilance police station, and further investigation is in progress.