Bhubaneswar : In a major anti-corruption crackdown, the Odisha Vigilance Department arrested a junior engineer and his associate in Nayagarh district for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1.36 lakh from a contractor. The accused were reportedly demanding the money for clearing pending official dues related to a government road project.

The arrested officials have been identified as Keshab Subudhi, Junior Engineer of the Bhapur Rural Works Section, and his associate Ashutosh Baliarsingh. According to Vigilance sources, the complainant contractor had completed road construction and maintenance work under the Mukhya Mantri Sadak Yojana (MMSY) during 2021-22 in the Khandapara area. After completion of the maintenance period, the contractor repeatedly approached the department seeking release of his pending bills and refund of the Initial Security Deposit (ISD).

However, the junior engineer allegedly delayed the process and demanded a bribe of Rs 1.36 lakh to conduct the required measurement work and process the payment files. Left with no alternative, the contractor lodged a complaint with Odisha Vigilance authorities.

Acting on the complaint, Vigilance officials laid a trap and conducted a raid at the government quarters of the junior engineer in Khandapara. During the operation, the accused were caught red-handed while allegedly accepting the bribe amount. Officials stated that the junior engineer instructed the contractor to hand over the money to his associate in his presence.

The entire bribe amount of Rs 1.36 lakh was recovered from the possession of the accused and later seized by the Vigilance team as evidence. Chemical tests conducted on the accused reportedly confirmed their contact with the tainted currency notes.

Following the arrests, Vigilance teams launched simultaneous searches at multiple locations linked to the accused, including the junior engineer’s office, government residence in Khandapara, and an apartment in Bhubaneswar. During the search operation, officials also recovered bundles of old Rs 2,000 currency notes from the premises, raising suspicion of additional financial irregularities.

A case has been registered under the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Both accused are being interrogated, and officials said further investigation is underway to examine their financial transactions and possible disproportionate assets.

The latest arrest is being seen as part of Odisha Vigilance’s intensified efforts to curb corruption in government departments and ensure transparency in public works projects across the state.

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