Bhubaneswar, 08 July (H.S.): In a major anti-corruption operation, the Odisha Vigilance Department on Tuesday apprehended a senior mining official while he was allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹2 lakh from a leaseholder in Koraput district.

The accused has been identified as Satyajit Rout, Deputy Director (Geology)-cum-Deputy Director of Mines, Jeypore.

According to Vigilance officials, Rout had allegedly demanded the bribe to facilitate the extension of the lease period of a sand source beyond its expiry and to extend official support in future spot auctions related to sand mining.

The complainant, a sand leaseholder, approached the Vigilance Department after the official allegedly demanded ₹2 lakh in exchange for extending the lease and providing favourable assistance in upcoming sand source auctions.

Acting on the complaint, Vigilance officials registered a case and laid a trap. During the operation, Rout was allegedly caught red-handed while accepting the bribe. The entire tainted amount of ₹2 lakh was recovered from his possession and seized in the presence of witnesses.

Following the successful trap, simultaneous searches were launched at three locations associated with the accused as part of the ongoing investigation.

During a search of Rout's residence in Rayagada, Vigilance officials recovered an additional ₹2.9 lakh in cash. With this recovery, the total cash seized during the operation has risen to ₹4.9 lakh.

A case has been registered at the Koraput Vigilance Police Station under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.

Vigilance officials said the investigation is continuing, and searches at properties linked to the accused are still underway. Further details are expected after the completion of the investigation.

Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda