Malkangiri Revenue Inspector Caught Taking Rs 8,000 Bribe for Caste Certificate

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance officials on Monday caught a Revenue Inspector (RI) red-handed while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 8,000 from an applicant in Malkangiri district.

The accused was identified as Suraj Bala, Revenue Inspector of Jharapali Circle under Malkangiri Tahasil. He was allegedly demanding money to facilitate the submission of a verification report required for the issuance of a Scheduled Caste (SC) certificate in favour of the applicant’s spouse.

According to the Vigilance department, the applicant had submitted the caste certificate application online in accordance with the prescribed procedure and had also paid the required fee. However, Bala allegedly delayed the verification process and demanded Rs 10,000 to move the application forward.

The RI reportedly agreed to accept Rs 8,000 initially, asking the applicant to pay the remaining Rs 2,000 after the work was completed.

Unwilling to meet the illegal demand, the applicant approached Odisha Vigilance and lodged a complaint. Acting on the complaint, Vigilance officials laid a trap at the RI’s office.

During the operation, Bala was allegedly caught while accepting Rs 8,000 from the complainant. The entire bribe amount was recovered from his possession and seized by the investigating team.

Following the trap, Vigilance officials launched simultaneous searches at two locations linked to Bala to investigate possible possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

A case has been registered at Koraput Vigilance Police Station under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Further investigation is underway.

Officials also said that Bala had previously been caught in another Vigilance trap case in 2023. He was allegedly accused of accepting Rs 15,000 in connection with the issuance of an appearance notice in an EC case. The matter is currently sub judice. :::