Odisha Vigilance Arrests Forest Officer for Bribery in Plantation Maintenance

Bhubaneswar, October 29 (Daily Kiran) : Odisha’s Vigilance department arrested a forest officer on Thursday for allegedly accepting a bribe related to the maintenance of three plantation sites. The officer, identified as Moushumi Behera, serves as the Deputy Ranger in the Fulnakhara range under the Bhubaneswar City Forest Division.

According to a press release from the Vigilance, Behera demanded a bribe of ₹1 lakh from an employee in exchange for passing bills for maintenance work carried out between July and September 2026. This work included oversight, watering, and fertilizing the plantation sites.

The Vigilance stated, “Behera requested the bribe to release payments for the three months’ work. She warned that if the ₹1 lakh was not paid, she would not approve future bills.” Distressed by this demand and unable to meet it, the employee contacted Vigilance officials and filed a complaint.

Acting on the complaint, a Vigilance team set up a sting operation and apprehended Behera as she accepted the bribe. The full amount was recovered from her possession.

Following this incident, Vigilance officials initiated a search at two locations linked to Behera to investigate whether she possesses assets exceeding her known sources of income.

A case has been registered against Behera under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, at the Vigilance Cell police station on October 28. The investigation is ongoing.

In a related development, on Sunday, the Vigilance arrested a senior clerk from the state forest department for embezzling over ₹2.60 crore in government funds. The clerk allegedly created fake bills under the Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP) and Revised Assured Career Progression (RACP) schemes. Earlier, on October 18, Vigilance officials apprehended a senior clerk and two associates in Dhenkanal district for embezzling ₹65,90,773 between 2016 and 2026.