Odisha Vigilance officials arrested Sekhar Chandra Sahu, an accountant, and Tamanna Sahu, a peon, both posted at Barpali Community Health Centre (CHC) in Bargarh district, for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 7,000 through digital payment mode (PhonePe).
The bribe was extracted from a fellow staff member, a Multi-Purpose Male Health Worker (MPMHW), in exchange for processing his arrears of salary, increment, and Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP) benefits.
The complainant, who had recently been promoted to the MPMHW position at the same CHC, had been persistently requesting the accused accountant for the past three months to initiate the necessary paperwork for his pending salary arrears. However, Sahu and his accomplice, the peon Tamanna Sahu, allegedly refused to proceed without the payment of Rs 7,000 as “undue advantage.” Frustrated by the repeated demands, the health worker reported the matter to Vigilance authorities, leading to a meticulously planned trap operation on November 3, 2025.
During the sting, the complainant attempted to transfer the bribe amount via PhonePe to the accountant’s account, but the transaction failed. Subsequently, the money was successfully sent to the peon’s PhonePe account. Vigilance teams apprehended both individuals red-handed while they were in the process of demanding and accepting the bribe. The cell phones of the accused were immediately seized as evidence.
Preliminary investigations suggest this may not be an isolated incident. Authorities allege that the accountant had similarly extorted bribes from several other promoted MPMHWs, a claim currently under verification. Following the arrests, simultaneous searches were conducted at the accountant’s residential house in Barpali, his office room, and the peon’s native house in Dunguripali, Subarnapur district. During these raids, cash amounting to Rs 1,61,250 was recovered and seized from the accountant’s residence.
Both Sekhar Chandra Sahu and Tamanna Sahu have been arrested and are set to be produced before the court. The case has been registered at Sambalpur Vigilance Police Station as Case No. 22 dated November 2, 2025, under Sections 7 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. The investigation is ongoing, with officials probing deeper into the potential involvement of others in similar corrupt practices.
