Bargarh, March 16: A junior clerk-cum-accountant in the Block Education Officer’s office at Barpali in Bargarh district was apprehended by Odisha Vigilance on Sunday for allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹6,000.

The accused, identified as Rajani Kanta Kar, was caught while demanding and accepting the bribe from an official of the same office for preparing a bill to release his pending arrear salary. According to vigilance sources, the complainant had repeatedly requested Kar to process the bill for his arrear salary, but the latter allegedly demanded ₹6,000 to complete the work.

Aggrieved over the demand, the official reported the matter to the vigilance authorities. Acting on the complaint, a team of Odisha Vigilance laid a trap and caught Kar red-handed while accepting the bribe amount. The entire tainted money of ₹6,000 was recovered from his possession and seized.

Following the trap, vigilance officials launched simultaneous searches at two locations linked to the accused to verify possible disproportionate assets.

In connection with the incident, Sambalpur Vigilance Police Station has registered Case No. 02 dated March 15, 2026 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018 against the accused. Further investigation is underway, officials said.