Sundargarh, May 27: In a separate anti-corruption operation on Wednesday, Odisha Vigilance apprehended Sumanta Naik, Junior Engineer (JE) under the National Health Mission (NHM) in the office of the CDM & PHO, Sundargarh, while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000 from a contractor.
According to Vigilance officials, the accused JE had demanded the bribe for processing the release of the contractor’s Initial Security Deposit (ISD), which had been deposited for repair and renovation work of a Primary Health Centre (PHC) building and staff quarters in Sundargarh district.
Sources said the contractor had already completed the renovation work, but despite this, the JE was allegedly delaying the file related to the release of the security deposit. Instead, he reportedly demanded Rs 5,000 to facilitate the process.
Unable to bear the harassment, the contractor approached Odisha Vigilance and lodged a complaint. Acting on the allegation, a Vigilance team laid a trap and caught Sumanta Naik red-handed inside his office while accepting the bribe amount.
The tainted cash of Rs 5,000 was recovered from the possession of the accused and subsequently seized by the Vigilance officials.
Following the trap, simultaneous searches were launched at three locations linked to the accused from the disproportionate assets (DA) angle.
In this connection, Rourkela Vigilance Police Station Case No. 03/2026 has been registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Further investigation into the case is underway.
