Bhubaneswar, 06 January (H.S.): Odisha Vigilance on Tuesday apprehended a forest staffer of Muribahal Range in Bolangir district while allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹10,000 for granting permission to transport wooden logs.

The accused has been identified as Ashok Kumar Nayak, Forester of Gulumi Section under Muribahal Range. He was caught red-handed while taking the bribe from a farmer to allow transportation of logs of one teak and one sal tree cut from the farmer’s own land a few days earlier.

According to Vigilance sources, when the farmer approached Nayak seeking permission for transportation of the logs, the forester allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹10,000 and imposed a fine of ₹2,000 for cutting the trees without prior permission, as per government rules. While the farmer agreed to pay the fine amount, he alleged that Nayak insisted on the bribe and threatened action if the demand was not met.

Harassed by the repeated demand, the farmer lodged a complaint with the Odisha Vigilance. Acting on the complaint, a Vigilance team laid a trap and caught Nayak while he was receiving ₹10,000 as bribe along with the ₹2,000 fine amount. The entire sum of ₹12,000 was recovered from his possession and seized.

Following the trap, simultaneous searches are being conducted at two locations linked to the accused to ascertain possible disproportionate assets.

In this connection, Sambalpur Vigilance Police Station Case No. 01 dated January 5, 2026 has been registered against Ashok Kumar Nayak under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Further investigation is underway.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda