The Odisha Vigilance department arrested two individuals, including the tehsildar of Soro in Balasore district, for corruption. Tehsildar Daitari Mallik and a private person, Dayanidhi Jena, were caught accepting a bribe of Rs 40,000 from a truck owner to release five detained trucks carrying stones. Mallik had detained the trucks since February 11 and demanded Rs 1,00,000 as a bribe initially.
The tehsildar later reduced the bribe amount to Rs 40,000 after negotiations when the truck owner expressed inability to pay the higher sum. Following a complaint from the truck owner, the Vigilance authorities set a trap and apprehended Mallik and Jena in the tehsildar’s office room. The bribe money was recovered from the accused duo in the presence of witnesses.
After the arrests, searches were conducted at Mallik’s rented residences in Soro and Bhubaneswar, along with his office room. A case has been registered at the Balasore Vigilance Police Station under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.
