Bhubaneswar, Dec 20 (IANS) The Odisha Vigilance on Friday arrested an Additional Tehsildar after he was caught red-handed while receiving a bribe from a lessee for favourable demarcation of his lease land.

The accused Odisha Revenue Services official was identified as Pradipta Kumar Sethi, ORS, Additional Tahasildar-cum-In-Charge Tehsildar of Binjharpur Tahasil in Jajpur district.

According to vigilance sources, the High Court of Orissa had ordered the then Tehsildar, Binjharpur, in a writ petition filed by the lessee in 2021 to demarcate the land. Since then, the lessee had been requesting the Tehsildar to demarcate his land.

However, Sethi was insisting on payment of Rs 30,000 to demarcate the land and to favour him during the demarcation process. When several approaches made by the lessee went in vain, he reported the matter to the vigilance authorities.

Acting upon the lessee’s complaint, vigilance sleuths laid a trap on Friday and caught the accused Sethi while receiving the bribe amount behind a Medicine Store at Binjharpur in Jajpur district from the landowner.

The entire bribe money was recovered and seized from the possession of Sethi in the presence of witnesses.

Following the trap, simultaneous searches were launched at Sethi’s rented residential house at Binjharpur, his residential house at his native place in the Mahakalpada area of Kendrapara district, and his office chamber.

The accused Sethi has been arrested and is likely to be forwarded to the court on Saturday. It is worth noting that on Thursday, the state’s primary anti-corruption agency also arrested a senior woman police officer, Sukma Hansdah, the Inspector-in-Charge (IIC) of Dasmantpur Police Station in Koraput district, after she was caught red-handed while allegedly accepting a bribe to facilitate bail for an accused in a criminal case.

According to reports, Odisha Vigilance apprehended a total of 271 government employees, including 20 police officials, after they were caught red-handed in bribery cases over the last 18 months.

–IANS

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