RI held while taking bribe

Bhubaneswar: A Revenue Inspector was arrested in Cuttack district while allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 10,000 on Thursday, an officer said. The accused, Janaki Ranjan Mallik, was posted as the Revenue Inspector of Kakhadi circle. He was caught while taking the bribe of Rs 10,000 from a landowner to submit a favourable report in respect of a mutation case filed by him for the issuance of a land rights certificate.

The landowner had applied online for the mutation. The Revenue Inspector had fixed the date for the hearing on January 27 and asked the landowner to meet him on January 20. When the landowner met the inspector, he demanded a bribe of Rs 10,000 to submit a favourable report. The landowner expressed his inability to pay the demanded bribe.

As the accused insisted on the bribe, the landowner reported the matter to the Vigilance department. Following this, a trap was laid, and the inspector was arrested. The bribe money was seized, and searches have been started at three locations linked to him, the officer said. A case has also been registered under the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act 2018.