In another anti-corruption operation, Odisha Vigilance officials apprehended Naresh Kumar Das, an Assistant Engineer (AE) in the Rural Works (PH) Division, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹1 lakh from a contractor to clear pending bills worth ₹7 lakh.
Following the sting operation, authorities recovered an additional ₹1.26 lakh during a personal search, bringing the total cash seizure to ₹2.26 lakh. Officials have also launched house searches as part of the investigation.
A formal case—Bhubaneswar Vigilance PS Case 5/2025—has been registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.
Investigations are actively underway to uncover further details and possible links to broader corruption networks, said Odisha Vigilance.