Two Agriculture Officials Arrested for Bribery in Nabarangpur

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance Department today arrested two officials, including an Assistant Agriculture Officer (AAO), for accepting a ₹5,000 bribe in Nabarangpur district.

The accused officials have been identified as Nilakantha Parida (AAO) and Surendra Singh Bundela (Block Technology Manager) from the Agriculture Office in Umerkote.

The duo allegedly demanded ₹5,000 from a beneficiary of the Jalanidhi scheme in exchange for providing a subsidy for borewell construction. The victim subsequently filed a complaint with the Odisha Vigilance Department.

Acting on the complaint, vigilance officers set a trap and caught the officials red-handed while accepting the bribe. The bribe money was recovered, and simultaneous searches were conducted at various locations linked to them to investigate any disproportionate assets.

The officials were arrested, and a case has been registered under the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, the Vigilance Department stated. Further investigation is underway.