Kalahandi, May 5: Vigilance officials on Tuesday arrested Junagarh block Accountant-cum- Data Entry Operator (ADEO) Debendra Sahoo for allegedly accepting Rs 6,000 bribe process the file of a poor man for sanction of a house under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

Sahoo was caught red-handed following a complaint filed with the Koraput Vigilance unit.

According to officials, for about last one week, the victim had been requesting the accused to process the file after his selection as a beneficiary under the PMAY. But, Sahoo demanded bribe Rs 6,000 from the beneficiary to process his file.

Being a poor man, the beneficiary was unable to pay the bribe. Left with no options to meet the demand of the accused Accountant-cum- Data Entry Operator, the beneficiary approached the vigilance authorities narrating his harassment.

“Following this, a team of Odisha Vigilance, today, nabbed Sri Sahoo, ADEO, while taking bribe Rs. 6,000/- from the beneficiary. The entire tainted bribe money Rs.6,000/- from the possession of accused Sri Sahoo and seized,” said a Vigilance communique.

Following the trap, simultaneous searches were underway at two locations linked to Sahoo to probe possible disproportionate assets.