Odisha Vigilance Department Arrests Two Government Officials in Bribery Cases

Bhubaneswar, August 19: The Odisha Vigilance Department has arrested two government officials in separate bribery cases. The arrests occurred on Tuesday and involved a female Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) from Balasore and a Revenue Inspector (RI) from Malkangiri district.

In Balasore, the Vigilance team apprehended Madhusmita Mohanty while she was accepting a bribe. Mohanty served as the CDPO for both the Sadar area of Balasore and the Balasore Municipality.

According to Vigilance officials, a person who provides rental vehicles to the municipality had submitted overdue bills for June and July 2026. The monthly rental fee was ₹26,000. It is alleged that Mohanty demanded a bribe of ₹5,000 in exchange for approving the bills and releasing the payments.

Following a complaint, the Vigilance team set a trap and caught Mohanty red-handed while she was demanding and accepting the bribe in the Balasore Collectorate premises. The entire amount of the bribe was seized from her. After her arrest, the Vigilance conducted simultaneous searches at her two-story residence in Gopalgaon, Balasore, and her office. A case has been registered against her under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018 at the Balasore Vigilance Police Station.

In another operation, Vigilance officials arrested Suraj Bala, a Revenue Inspector from the Jharapali circle in Malkangiri tehsil, for accepting a bribe. He allegedly demanded a bribe in exchange for providing the necessary verification report to issue a Scheduled Caste certificate for a person’s wife.

The applicant had submitted an online application along with the required fees as per the rules. Despite this, Suraj Bala reportedly delayed the process and demanded a bribe of ₹10,000. Upon receiving a complaint, the Vigilance team set a trap and caught him accepting ₹8,000 in bribes.

Investigations revealed that Suraj Bala had previously been involved in another bribery case. In 2023, he was accused of accepting ₹15,000 in bribes for issuing a notice in an encroachment case, a matter that is currently pending in court.

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