Bhubaneswar, 06 November (H.S.): Odisha Vigilance on Friday apprehended Baliapal Sub-Registrar Manisha Mishra, an Odisha Revenue Service (ORS) officer, while allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹7,000 from a land purchaser for registering a sale deed of land recorded as ‘Bajyapti Stithiban’ in Balasore district.

According to an official Vigilance release, Mishra had initially demanded ₹10,000 from the complainant to facilitate the registration of a sale deed for 0.14 acre of land. She later reduced the bribe amount to ₹7,000 after the purchaser expressed his inability to pay the full amount.

The complainant had approached Odisha Vigilance after allegedly facing harassment despite repeatedly requesting the Sub-Registrar to register the sale deed in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Revenue and Disaster Management Department.

As per the department's provisions, land recorded under the said category (kisam) is to be treated as Stithiban land and is eligible for registration, the Vigilance release stated.

Acting on the complaint, a team of Odisha Vigilance laid a trap and caught Mishra while allegedly accepting the bribe amount on Friday. The entire tainted money of ₹7,000 was recovered from her possession and seized.

Following the trap, simultaneous searches are underway at two locations linked to the accused officer to investigate the possibility of possession of assets disproportionate to her known sources of income.

In this connection, Balasore Vigilance Police Station Case No. 26/2026 has been registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Further investigation is underway.

Mishra joined government service in 2024 and was posted as Sub-Registrar at Baliapal during her probation period.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda