Bhubaneswar, 29 October (H.S.): Odisha Vigilance on Thursday apprehended Mousumi Behera, Deputy Ranger of Phulnakhara Range under the City Forest Division, Bhubaneswar, while allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹1 lakh from a staff member of the same range for releasing bills related to plantation maintenance.

According to Odisha Vigilance, the alleged bribe was sought for clearing bills towards the maintenance of three plantation sites between July and September 2026. The work included watch and ward, watering, fertiliser application and other related activities.

Behera allegedly demanded ₹1 lakh from the staff member for releasing the pending amount and warned that bills for the coming months would not be cleared if the bribe was not paid. Aggrieved by the demand and unable to meet it, the staff member approached the Vigilance authorities.

Acting on the complaint, a team of Odisha Vigilance laid a trap and apprehended Behera while she was allegedly accepting the bribe. The entire tainted amount of ₹1 lakh was recovered from her possession and seized.

Following the trap, simultaneous searches are underway at two locations linked to the Deputy Ranger to investigate allegations of possession of assets disproportionate to her known sources of income.

In this connection, Vigilance Cell Police Station Case No. 09, dated October 28, 2026, has been registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.

Further investigation into the case is in progress, Odisha Vigilance said.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda