Two excise officials in Odisha’s Keonjhar district were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 40,000 from a licensed liquor vendor.
The arrested excise officials have been identified as Sitarani Pattayat, Excise Superintendent and Bijay Kumar Mohanta, the officer-in-charge of the Champua excise station, an official statement said.
According to the statement, Pattayat, since she took charge four months ago, had allegedly been demanding a regular payment from the vendor to ensure the smooth operation of his business.
The vendor reported the matter to the Vigilance Department. Upon receiving the information, a team of Odisha Vigilance nabbed Pattayat today, along with her colleague ASI Mohanta, who took the bribe Rs 40,000 from the vendor as per telephonic instruction of Pattayat.
“The entire bribe money has been recovered and seized from them,” the statement said.
Following the trap, simultaneous searches were conducted at three locations connected to Pattayat and two locations linked to Mohanta.
A case has been registered against the excise officials at the Balasore vigilance police station under the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act. Further investigation into the matter is on, it said.
