Balasore, Oct 10: In a swift operation today, Odisha Vigilance officials apprehended two staff members of Jaleswar Municipality while accepting a bribe of ₹10,000 from a local contractor in exchange for clearing his pending bill.
The accused have been identified as Braja Gopal Ghose Mohapatra, Dealing Assistant (Sanitation-cum-MIS Coordinator), and Ratikanta Patra, Sanitation Expert. Both were caught red-handed while accepting the bribe amount from the complainant for processing payment related to work executed under the IEC (Information, Education, and Communication) activity in Jaleswar Municipality, Balasore district.
According to the complainant, despite repeated follow-ups for over one and a half months, his bill remained uncleared. He alleged that both officials were demanding ₹10,000 as a bribe to move the file and facilitate payment. With no other recourse, the contractor approached the Odisha Vigilance department, leading to the trap being laid.
The vigilance team recovered the entire bribe amount from the accused at the time of the operation. Following the successful trap, simultaneous searches are being conducted at two locations linked to Ghose Mohapatra from the Disproportionate Assets (DA) angle.
A case has been registered under Balasore Vigilance PS Case No.15/2025 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.
Investigation is currently underway against both officials. Further details are awaited.
Tags: vigilance
