Bolangir, Jan 6: Odisha Vigilance today apprehended a forest official of Muribahal Range in Bolangir district while he was demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹10,000 for granting permission to transport wooden logs.

The accused, Ashok Kumar Nayak, Forester of Gulumi Section under Muribahal Range, was caught red-handed while taking the bribe from a local farmer. The farmer had cut one teak tree and one sal tree a few days earlier from his own land and approached the forester for official permission to transport the logs.

According to vigilance sources, Nayak demanded a bribe of ₹10,000 to issue the transportation permission. He also imposed a fine of ₹2,000 for cutting the trees without prior approval, as required under government rules.

The farmer, who was unaware that prior permission was needed to cut trees from his own land, agreed to pay the fine amount. However, the forester allegedly insisted on the additional bribe and threatened to take action against the farmer if the demanded amount was not paid.

Harassed by the repeated demands and threats, the farmer approached Odisha Vigilance authorities and lodged a complaint. Acting promptly on the information, a vigilance team laid a trap and caught Nayak while he was accepting ₹12,000, which included the bribe amount of ₹10,000 and the fine of ₹2,000. The entire amount was recovered from the possession of the accused and seized.

Following the trap, Odisha Vigilance has launched simultaneous searches at two locations associated with Nayak from a disproportionate assets (DA) angle.

In this connection, Sambalpur Vigilance has registered a case against Ashok Kumar Nayak under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.