Bhubaneswar, 23 February (H.S.)the Odisha Vigilance on Sunday apprehended two officials from the Agriculture Office in Umerkote, Nabarangpur, for accepting a bribe of Rs. 5,000. The accused, Sri Nilakantha Parida, Assistant Agriculture Officer (AAO), and Sri Surendrasingh Bundela, Block Technology Manager (BTM), were arrested for demanding the bribe from a beneficiary of the Jalanidhi scheme. The bribe was allegedly taken in exchange for processing the subsidy for the construction of a borewell on the complainant's land.

Following the successful trap, the entire tainted bribe amount was recovered from the possession of both officials. In addition, simultaneous searches are being conducted at three locations linked to Sri Parida and two locations associated with Sri Bundela as part of the investigation into their assets, suspected to be disproportionate to their known sources of income.

A case has been registered under Sections 7 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, at the Koraput Vigilance Police Station (Case No. 05, dated 22.02.2025). The investigation is ongoing as the Vigilance Bureau looks into the activities of both accused officials.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda