Bhubaneswar, September 7: Odisha Vigilance officials on Monday caught two Revenue officials on charges of taking bribe of Rs 35,000.
The accused due has been identified as Kalyani Jena, Revenue Inspector and Purna Chandra Behera, ARI, both of Siula RI Circle under Pipili Tahasil of Puri district.
As per Vigilance statement, the duo was caught red-handed while taking the bribe from a person for processing and forwarding the enquiry report in a mutation case for conversion of his land.
The applicant had applied as per rules of the Govt in Revenue & Disaster Management Department for conversion of agricultural land to homestead land. When the applicant enquired about the status of the case in the RI office, both the RI and ARI demanded bribe Rs 35,000 to initiate the mutation case for conversion of land.
Despite repeated requests by the applicant, the accused duo insisted on taking the demanded bribe.
Upset over the illegal demand of the Government officials, the applicant approached the vigilance authorities and a trap was laid accordingly.
The entire tainted bribe money Rs 35,000 has been recovered from the possession of the RI and the ARI.
Following the trap, simultaneous searches underway at their office and houses at Bramhakumdi (Charichhak), Achyutapur (Chandanpur) and Rasulgarh, Bhubaneswar to investigate possible disproportionate asset.
A case has been registered at the Bhubaneswar Vigilance police station under P.C. (Amendment) Act, 2018.
