Bhubaneswar, Feb 12 (IANS) The Odisha Vigilance on Thursday arrested an Additional Tahasildar after he was caught while receiving a bribe from a businessman in the Belaguntha area of Ganjam district.

As per Vigilance sources, the accused, Kabiraj Sethi, Addl. Tahasildar, Belaguntha, Ganjam, had detained a sand-laden tractor on February 5 without mentioning it in the official record.

Sethi was allegedly pressurizing the tractor owner, who is engaged in the trade of minor minerals, to pay a bribe of Rs 40,000 for the release of his sand-laden tractor.

Though the owner submitted supporting documents, the accused Addl. Tahasildar demanded a bribe to release the same. As per the complaint, on Thursday, when the complainant went to the Addl. Tahasildar, he collected a fine of Rs 30,000 as tax/cess payment and took a bribe of Rs 10,000.

Acting on the complaint, the Vigilance sleuths laid a trap and nabbed Sethi in his office room for demanding and accepting undue financial advantage from the tractor owner. The entire bribe money was recovered from Sethi’s possession in the presence of witnesses.

Following the trap, simultaneous searches were launched at Sethi’s government residential quarters in Belaguntha and his residential house at Nachuni in Khordha district.

Subsequently, the accused Addl. Tahasildar was arrested on Thursday. In another significant development, the anti-corruption sleuths on Thursday also arrested a government official in connection with a disproportionate assets case.

The accused, Subrat Kumar Behera, currently posted as Junior Assistant in the office of the CDMO, Angul, was found in possession of disproportionate assets to the tune of 205 per cent of his known sources of income.

Earlier, Behera was charged with allegedly misappropriating Rs 2.38 crore by drawing excess amounts towards his salary during the period from 2017 to 2025 while serving as Junior Assistant, crediting the same to his salary account being operated at SBI, Angul Branch.

“Investigation revealed that Behera fraudulently drew a Basic Pay in the range between Rs 3,36,100 to Rs 7,36,100 during the year 2022 to 2025 and dearness allowance @ Rs.9,05,827 to Rs.14,06,300 from March 2021 to June 2021,” informed a senior vigilance officer.

–IANS

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