Bhubaneswar, 27 August (H.S.): The Odisha Vigilance on Wednesday arrested OFS officer Sarita Barik, serving as Assistant Commissioner of State Tax, Bhubaneswar-IV Circle, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹25,000 from a bakery firm.
According to officials, Barik had earlier issued a show-cause notice to the complainant, directing him to pay ₹2.27 lakh towards reversal of Input Tax Credit (ITC) for FY 2020-21 along with penalty. When the complainant sought relief, she allegedly demanded a bribe to waive the penalty.
Acting on the complaint, Vigilance officials laid a trap and caught Barik red-handed while accepting the bribe inside her car near Aakash Institute in Madhusudan Nagar.
Following the arrest, simultaneous searches were conducted at three locations linked to her. Raids at her rented residence in Bhubaneswar continued till early Wednesday, leading to the recovery of ₹1.45 lakh in cash, 222 grams of gold ornaments, jewellery bills, property documents, and bank deposits worth nearly ₹60 lakh.
Barik has been booked under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, with a case registered at Bhubaneswar Vigilance Police Station (Case No. 18/26.08.2025). She will be produced before the Vigilance Court in Bhubaneswar later today.
Officials confirmed that further investigation into her alleged disproportionate assets is underway.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda
