The Odisha Vigilance today apprehended Simadri Srikanta Rao, Assistant Director (Technical) at the Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA), Bhubaneswar, while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 from a contractor.
The bribe was demanded for signing the Performance Certificate needed to release the pending balance payment for the installation of a 60 kW solar power plant at the Water and Land Management Institute (WALMI), Cuttack. According to Vigilance officials, the contractor had been pursuing Rao for several weeks to clear the bills after the work was fully completed. Rao initially demanded Rs 30,000 but later negotiated it down to Rs 10,000.
Frustrated by the repeated demands, the contractor approached the Vigilance Department. A trap team laid an ambush and caught Rao red-handed this afternoon while he was accepting the bribe money. The entire tainted amount of Rs 10,000 was recovered from his exclusive possession and seized on the spot.
Following the successful trap, simultaneous raids are underway at three locations linked to Rao to probe his disproportionate assets.
A case has been registered at Bhubaneswar Vigilance Police Station vide Case No. 03 dated 19.03.2026 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.
