Odisha Vigilance officials apprehended Satyananda Behera, Assistant Director of Textiles and In-Charge Deputy Director of Textiles in Subarnapur, along with Ramakanta Meher, Secretary of a Weavers’ Co-operative Society under Ullunda Block, on Friday.
The duo was caught red-handed while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 36,000/as the first instalment of an overall demand of Rs 80,000 from trainees enrolled in a government-sponsored skill development program.
The incident revolves around the “Promotion of Handloom Industry” (POHI) scheme, under which trainees were undergoing skill up-gradation training in Tie & Dye making and Weaving. As per the scheme’s guidelines, each trainee is entitled to a daily stipend of Rs 200 during the training period. With the program nearing completion, the trainees approached Sri Behera to request the release of their pending stipends. However, Behera allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 80,000 to process the payments.
Aggrieved by the extortion, the trainees reported the matter to the Vigilance authorities. Acting swiftly on the complaint, a Vigilance team laid a trap and nabbed Behera and Meher while they were accepting the initial bribe amount of Rs 36,000. The entire tainted money was recovered from their possession and seized on the spot.
Following the arrest, simultaneous searches were initiated at three locations linked to Sri Behera and one location connected to Sri Meher to investigate potential disproportionate assets (DA). The case has been registered as Sambalpur Vigilance PS Case No. 25/2025 under Sections 7 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Investigation is ongoing, with a detailed report expected soon.
This operation highlights Odisha Vigilance’s commitment to rooting out corruption in public welfare schemes, ensuring that benefits reach the intended beneficiaries without undue exploitation.
