Bhubaneswar, 05 July (H.S.): Odisha Vigilance on Sunday apprehended Smt. Suryakanti Pandey, Sarpanch of Nimna Gram Panchayat under Ullunda Block in Subarnapur district, while allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹20,000 from a Self-Help Group (SHG) functionary.

According to Vigilance officials, the accused had demanded the bribe for signing agreement documents required to enable pisciculture in a Gram Panchayat tank and to facilitate the release of a government subsidy from the District Fisheries Office in favour of the SHG. The group had leased the GP tank for a period of five years for fish farming.

The investigation revealed that the Sarpanch had initially demanded ₹40,000 from the SHG functionary. Following the complainant's inability to pay the amount, the demand was allegedly reduced to ₹20,000 after negotiations.

Unable to meet the illegal demand, the SHG functionary approached the Odisha Vigilance and lodged a complaint. Acting on the complaint, Vigilance officials laid a trap and caught the Sarpanch red-handed while accepting the bribe.

The entire tainted amount of ₹20,000 was recovered from the possession of the accused and seized as evidence.

Following the successful trap, Odisha Vigilance launched simultaneous searches at two locations linked to the accused to investigate possible disproportionate assets.

In connection with the case, Sambalpur Vigilance Police Station Case No. 10, dated June 4, 2026, has been registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Further investigation is underway.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda