Bhubaneswar, 20 August (H.S.) Odisha Vigilance today apprehended Sri Dhirendra Mohanty, Secretary of Mahu Co-operative Society, Aul in Kendrapara district, for allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹10,000 from a loanee farmer in exchange for handing over a loan passbook and cheque book related to an already sanctioned agricultural loan.

According to Vigilance sources, the complainant and his father had been sanctioned a loan amount of ₹75,000 by the co-operative society on August 12, 2025. However, despite repeated requests, Sri Mohanty allegedly delayed issuing the loan passbook and cheque book without any valid reason. Instead, he was reported to have demanded an initial bribe of ₹20,000 for releasing the documents.

The farmer, unable to pay the amount, negotiated the bribe down to ₹10,000, following which Mohanty allegedly threatened that the documents would not be handed over unless the reduced bribe was paid by August 20. Left with no alternative, the aggrieved farmer lodged a complaint with Odisha Vigilance.

Acting on the complaint, Vigilance officers laid a trap and caught Sri Mohanty red-handed today while accepting the bribe at his office. The entire tainted amount of ₹10,000 was recovered from his possession and seized as evidence.

Following the successful trap, Vigilance officials also initiated simultaneous searches at two locations associated with the accused to probe disproportionate assets (DA).

A case has been registered against Sri Mohanty under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, at Cuttack Vigilance Police Station (Case No. 23 dated 19.08.2025). Further investigation is underway.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda