Bhubaneswar, Nov 19: Odisha Vigilance on Wednesday arrested Sitarani Pattayat, Superintendent of Excise, Keonjhar, and Bijay Kumar Mohanta, ASI-cum-OIC of Champua Excise Station, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹40,000 from a licensed liquor vendor in order to allow smooth operation of his business.

According to Vigilance officials, Pattayat had been demanding regular payments from the vendor ever since she assumed charge as Excise Superintendent about four months ago. Facing continued harassment, the vendor finally approached the Vigilance authorities and lodged a formal complaint.

Acting on the tip-off, a Vigilance team laid a trap and caught ASI Mohanta red-handed while accepting the bribe on the telephonic instructions of Pattayat. The entire bribe amount was recovered from the accused officials during the operation.

Following the arrests, simultaneous searches were launched at three locations linked to Pattayat and two locations connected to Mohanta to investigate assets disproportionate to their known sources of income.

Balasore Vigilance Police Station has registered Case No. 17/2025 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, against both accused officers. Further investigation is underway, and a detailed report is expected.