In a crackdown on corruption, Odisha Vigilance apprehended Achyut Kumar Pradhan, a Senior Clerk attached to the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Court in Mathili, Malkangiri district, on Thursday after catching him red-handed accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000.
According to vigilance officials, Pradhan had demanded the illicit payment from a local complainant in exchange for facilitating relief in two Non-Bailable Warrants (NBWs) that had been issued against the complainant’s cousin in separate cases. Unwilling to yield to the extortion, the complainant approached the vigilance authorities to report the demand.
Acting promptly on the tip-off, a specialized team from Odisha Vigilance laid a trap on September 10, 2026. Pradhan was intercepted and apprehended while accepting the Rs 50,000 bribe directly from the complainant. Authorities confirmed that the entire tainted sum was recovered from his possession and seized on the spot.
Following the successful trap, anti-corruption officials launched simultaneous searches at Pradhan’s residential properties to investigate potential accumulation of Disproportionate Assets (DA).
The Koraput Vigilance Police Station has registered a case (No. 20/2026) under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Further investigation into the matter is currently underway, and a detailed report is awaited.
