Baleshwar, August 18: Odisha Vigilance officials on Tuesday apprehended Madhusmita Mohanty, Child Development Project Officer (CDPO), Baleshwar Sadar, while allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹5,000 from a vehicle owner for facilitating the release of pending vehicle hire-charge bills.

According to the Odisha Vigilance, Mohanty is also holding the additional charge of CDPO, Baleshwar Municipality, following the superannuation of the regular CDPO there.

The complainant had been providing his vehicle on a rent basis to the office of the CDPO, Baleshwar Municipality, since 2024.

The vehicle owner had recently submitted bills for two months—June and July 2026—for payment of hire charges at the rate of ₹26,000 per month. It is alleged that Mohanty demanded ₹5,000 from the vehicle owner to process and pass the bills so that the payment could be drawn.

Aggrieved by the alleged demand, the vehicle owner approached the Vigilance authorities and reported the matter. Acting on the complaint, Vigilance officials laid a trap on Tuesday.

During the trap operation, Mohanty was allegedly caught while demanding and accepting ₹5,000 from the complainant. The entire bribe amount was recovered from her possession and subsequently seized by the Vigilance team.

Following the trap, simultaneous searches were conducted at two locations linked to Mohanty as part of an investigation into her assets disproportionate to her known sources of income.

In connection with the incident, a case has been registered against Mohanty under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.