The Odisha Vigilance Department apprehended two officials from the Forest Department in Dhenkanal today. The accused officials, identified as Biswanath Soren, a Forester, and Sudipta Kumar Sahoo, a member of the Elephant Squad, were caught accepting a bribe of ₹10,000 from a poor farmer.
The investigation revealed that the officials had initially demanded ₹25,000 from the farmer to allow him to till a piece of land he had possessed for decades. A few days ago, Soren had confiscated the farmer’s tilling equipment and forced him to pay ₹15,000. Subsequently, Soren demanded an additional ₹10,000 under the threat of seizing the equipment once again.
The harassed farmer reported the matter to the Vigilance authorities, leading to a trap being set. The Vigilance team caught Soren and Sahoo red-handed while accepting the bribe money. The entire amount was recovered from their possession.
Following the arrests, simultaneous searches were conducted at several locations associated with the accused, including Soren’s government quarters, his house in his native village, his rented house, and Sahoo’s paternal house. Both individuals have been taken into custody and will be presented in court soon.
“A case has been registered under Cuttack Vigilance PS Case No. 04, dated March 11, 2025, under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, and is currently under investigation,” the Vigilance Directorate said in a press note.
