Odisha Vigilance nabs forest official in bribery case

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance on Thursday apprehended an official of the State Forest department while allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from a staff member of the Phulnakhara range for releasing bills towards maintenance of three plantation sites.

The accused official was identified as Mousumi Behera, Deputy Ranger of Phulnakhara under the City Forest Division, Bhubaneswar.

According to Vigilance, Behera had reportedly demanded a bribe for releasing bills covering maintenance work, including watch and ward, watering and application of fertilisers, carried out at the three plantation sites between July and September 2026.

“Behera demanded a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from the staffer towards release of the amount for the above 3 months and also asked him, if she was not paid the demanded bribe Rs 1 lakh, she would not release the bill for the upcoming months.

Aggrieved by the demand and unable to meet it, the staff member approached the Vigilance authorities and lodged a complaint,” the Odisha Vigilance said.

Acting on the complaint, a team of Odisha Vigilance on Thursday laid a trap and apprehended Behera while she was allegedly accepting Rs 1 lakh from the complainant. The entire tainted bribe amount was recovered from her possession and seized by the officials.

Following the trap, Vigilance officials have launched simultaneous searches at two locations linked to Behera to investigate allegations of possession of assets disproportionate to her known sources of income. In this connection, a case has been registered at the Vigilance Cell Police Station on October 28 against Behera under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Further investigation into the case is underway, the Vigilance statement said.

Odisha Vigilance on Sunday arrested a senior clerk of the State Forest department for embezzling government funds amounting to over Rs 2.60 crore. The accused allegedly embezzled government funds of over Rs 2.60 crore since 2023 by creating false bills under the Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP) and Revised Assured Career Progression (RACP) schemes.

Similarly, on October 18, the Vigilance arrested a senior clerk of the Forest department and two of his associates in Dhenkanal district on charges of misappropriating government funds amounting to Rs 65,90,773 over a period spanning 2016 to 2026.

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