Bhubaneswar, May 16: Odisha Vigilance today apprehended Niranjan Dhal, Executive Officer (EO) of Khandapara Notified Area Council (NAC) in Nayagarh district, while he was accepting a bribe of Rs. 20,000 from a contractor.
The incident occurred at Dhal's government residential quarters, where he had allegedly demanded the bribe in exchange for facilitating official work. The contractor, who had already completed certain works and was awaiting bill payments, was also seeking necessary measurements to be recorded for another completed project.
According to the complaint, Dhal demanded a bribe of Rs. 20,000 to process the pending bills and proceed with the official formalities.
Feeling harassed and left with no other recourse, the complainant approached the Vigilance authorities, who swiftly laid a trap. As per reports, the Vigilance team nabbed Dhal shortly after he received the bribe amount at his residence. The entire bribe money has been recovered from his possession.
Following the trap, the Vigilance Department has launched simultaneous searches at five different locations linked to Dhal to investigate possible disproportionate assets (DA).
A case has been registered at the Bhubaneswar Vigilance Police Station under Case No. 08/2025, invoking Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. The investigation is currently underway and further action will be taken based on the findings, said sources.
