Puri, June 5: Odisha Vigilance sleuths on Thursday apprehended a Section Officer of the Sub Divisional Veterinary Officer (SDVO) office in Puri for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 6,000.
The accused Section Officer has been identified as Manoj Mohanty.
As per reports, Mohanty was caught red-handed while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 6,000 from a staff member to process the disbursement of an Electric Vehicle (EV) advance for him and three others.
The government had already approved the required amount for the staff member. However, Mohanty delayed the withdrawal process and demanded a bribe of Rs 6,000 to release the sanctioned funds.
With no other option, the complainant reported the matter to Vigilance. Acting on the complaint, officers from the anti-corruption wing laid a trap and caught the official red-handed while he was accepting the bribe from the complainant.
The full bribe amount was recovered from the accused and has been seized.
Following his apprehension, Vigilance sleuths launched simultaneous searches at two locations of Mohanty to investigate the Disproportionate Angle (DA) angle.
A case has been registered against Mohanty and further investigation into the matter is in progress, said an official.
