Vigilance nets two revenue officials

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance on Monday apprehended a Revenue Inspector (RI) and an Assistant Revenue Inspector (ARI) for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 35,000 from a person for processing an enquiry report in connection with a land conversion and mutation case in Puri district. The accused were identified as RI Kalyani Jena, and ARI Purna Chandra Behera, both posted at the Siula RI Circle under Pipili Tehsil in Puri district. According to the Odisha Vigilance department, the complainant had applied under the rules of the Revenue and Disaster Management department for conversion of agricultural land into homestead land. When he approached the RI office to enquire about the status of his application, the accused duo Jena and Behera allegedly demanded Rs 35,000 for initiating the mutation case and processing and forwarding the required enquiry report. Despite repeated requests by the applicant, the accused duo insisted on taking the demanded bribe. 'After failing to meet the demanded bribe, the applicant (complainant) approached the Vigilance authorities narrating harassment by Jena and Behera,' the Vigilance department said. Acting on the complaint, a Vigilance team laid a trap on Monday and caught Jena and Behera while accepting the bribe from the complainant. The entire bribe amount of Rs 35,000 was recovered from the possession of the accused and seized, the agency said. Following the trap, simultaneous searches were launched at the accused persons' office and residential premises at Brahmakumdi (Charichhak), Achyutapur (Chandanpur) and Rasulgarh in Bhubaneswar as part of an investigation into their disproportionate assets, the Vigilance department added. In connection with the case, Bhubaneswar Vigilance police station registered a case on September 5 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Further investigation is underway. The Odisha Vigilance has intensified its crackdown on corrupt officials and employees, in line with the State government's zero-tolerance approach to corruption in government offices. Odisha VigilancePuri DistrictBribery TrapRevenue InspectorPipili Tehsil