The Odisha Vigilance on Tuesday apprehended Alan Behera, the Revenue Inspector (R.I.) of the Saintala Revenue Circle in Balangir district, while he was allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs. 3,000 to process an agricultural land conversion file.
According to vigilance officials, the complainant had submitted an online application on September 7, 2026, seeking to convert his agricultural land into homestead land following guidelines issued by the Revenue and Disaster Management (R&DM) Department. However, despite repeated requests, the accused official allegedly stalled the process without valid reason, demanding an initial bribe of Rs. 6,000 to submit a field enquiry report and facilitate the issuance of a homestead Record of Rights (ROR).
Distressed by the persistent demands, the applicant expressed financial inability, leading the accused R.I. to lower the bribe amount to Rs. 3,000. Finding himself with no alternative, the complainant approached the anti-corruption wing.
Acting swiftly on the tip-off, a dedicated team from Odisha Vigilance set a trap and successfully caught Sri Behera red-handed while accepting the bribe money. The entire sum of Rs. 3,000 was recovered directly from his possession and formally seized.
Following the successful trap, simultaneous search operations are currently underway at two locations linked to the accused official to unearth any potential disproportionate assets (DA).
Authorities confirmed that a formal case, Sambalpur Vigilance Division P.S. Case No. 19/2026, has been registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Further investigation into the matter is actively ongoing.
