Balangir, November 6: Odisha Vigilance on Friday apprehended Suresh Kumar Dalabehera, Principal of Government Industrial Training Institute (ITI), Balangir, while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 from a Guest Instructor and his fellow instructors to ensure their continuation in service and regular release of their salaries.

According to Vigilance, the accused Principal had allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 1.15 lakh from nine guest instructors of the institute for facilitating the regular drawal of their salaries and continuation in their respective positions. He had also allegedly threatened to disengage them from service if they failed to pay the demanded amount.

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Unable to bear the alleged harassment, the instructors approached Vigilance authorities.

Acting on the complaint, a Vigilance team laid a trap at Balangir Railway Station on Friday and caught Dalabehera red-handed while he was accepting Rs 30,000 as the first instalment of the total bribe amount of Rs 1.15 lakh.

The entire tainted bribe money of Rs 30,000 was recovered from his possession.

Following the trap, simultaneous searches are underway at three locations linked to the accused Principal to ascertain whether he has accumulated assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

In this connection, a case has been registered against the accused at the Sambalpur Vigilance Police Station under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.