Bhubaneswar, Mar 25: The Odisha Vigilance on Tuesday arrested an auditor from the Office of the Regional Director of Education (RDE), Bhubaneswar, for allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹4,000. The accused, Ambika Prasad Rath, was caught red-handed while receiving the illegal gratification from a staff member of a degree college located in Khordha district.

The bribe was reportedly demanded by Rath for facilitating the verification of service records and the correction of pay fixation statements under the Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP) scheme, which would enable the staff member to draw their salary.

According to Vigilance officials, the complainant had approached the agency after Rath allegedly requested ₹4,000 to process the necessary documents. Following the complaint, the Vigilance team set up a trap and apprehended Rath while he was accepting the bribe. The entire amount of ₹4,000 was seized from his possession.

In a subsequent move, simultaneous raids were carried out at Rath’s office and residence to investigate potential disproportionate assets. During these searches, an additional ₹1.28 lakh was recovered from his office drawer and personal possession. Officials believe the seized cash to be proceeds from previous bribe collections.

A case has been registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, at Bhubaneswar Vigilance Police Station (Case No. 04/2026). Further investigation is underway, and more details are expected to emerge soon.