Rayagada, July 15: A Revenue Inspector (RI) posted at Sirijhuli Circle under Gunupur Tahasil in Odisha's Rayagada district was caught red-handed by Odisha Vigilance on Wednesday while allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹25,000 in connection with a mutation case.

The accused, identified as Susanta Mallick, allegedly demanded the bribe from an applicant to submit a favourable enquiry report and facilitate the issuance of the Record of Rights (RoR), commonly known as the land patta, for the applicant's ancestral property.

According to Vigilance officials, the complainant had applied online for the mutation as per the Revenue and Disaster Management Department's prescribed procedure and had deposited the required fees. Despite this, the RI allegedly delayed the process without any valid reason and demanded ₹25,000 to process the application.

Unable to bear the alleged harassment, the applicant approached Odisha Vigilance, which laid a trap. Mallick was apprehended while allegedly receiving the bribe from the complainant in his office chamber.

The entire tainted bribe amount of ₹25,000 was recovered from the accused's possession and seized by the Vigilance team.

Following the trap, simultaneous searches were launched at three locations linked to the accused to investigate possible disproportionate assets.

In connection with the case, Koraput Vigilance Police Station Case No. 16/2026 has been registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Further investigation is underway.