Rayagada: Odisha Vigilance has arrested a senior Rural Works Department official in Rayagada district for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 2 lakh from a contractor in exchange for clearing pending bills and issuing a work experience certificate required for participation in a tender process. Pattnaik was scheduled to retire from service on June 30.The accused, Prasanna Kumar Pattnaik, Executive Engineer of Rural Works Division-I (RWD-I), Rayagada, was apprehended late on June 23 while accepting the bribe from the contractor.According to Vigilance officials, the contractor had been requesting Pattnaik to issue a work experience certificate that would enable him to participate in fresh tenders. The official demanded Rs 2.5 lakh as a bribe for clearing bills worth around Rs 50 lakh and issuing the certificate.When the contractor expressed his inability to pay the amount, the accused agreed to reduce the demand to Rs 2 lakh after negotiations. Unwilling to pay the bribe, the contractor approached Odisha Vigilance and lodged a complaint.Acting on the complaint, a Vigilance team laid a trap and caught Pattnaik red-handed while receiving the bribe amount. The entire tainted cash of Rs 2 lakh was recovered from his possession and seized.Following the arrest, Vigilance officials conducted simultaneous searches at multiple locations linked to the accused, including his residence at Nandan Vihar in Bhubaneswar, his ancestral house in Nayagarh, his office chamber, and his government quarters in Rayagada
Week Before Retirement, Odisha Engineer Caught Taking Rs 2 Lakh Bribe, Vigilance Seizes Rs 5.39 lakh Cash During House Search
