The Odisha Vigilance apprehended two individuals, including a junior engineer, for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 1.36 lakh from a contractor in the Khandapara area of Nayagarh district. The arrested persons are Keshab Subudhi, a Junior Engineer, and his associate Ashutosh Baliarsingh, who was acting as Subudhi’s supervisor. The bribe was reportedly for clearing pending bills and processing security deposit refunds related to works under the Mukhya Mantri Sadak Yojana for the year 2021–22.
The government stipulates that after the maintenance period, the Initial Security Deposit (ISD) and security deposit should be returned to the contractor. Failure to take measurements for maintenance works can lead to forfeiture of these deposits. The contractor had been urging the accused Junior Engineer for months to facilitate the release of the security deposit, but Subudhi allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 1.36 lakh for the task.
The contractor, aggrieved by the demand for a bribe, reported the matter to the Vigilance authorities. Subsequently, a trap was set, resulting in the arrest of Subudhi and Baliarsingh while they were accepting the bribe. The junior engineer had asked the contractor to hand over the money to his associate at his official quarters in Khandapara, where the bribe was recovered in the presence of witnesses.
Simultaneous searches were conducted at various locations linked to Subudhi, including his government quarters in Khandapara, a flat in Bhubaneswar, and his office. During the search, old Rs 2,000 notes were seized from his government quarters.
