CBI, Odisha Vigilance Nab Two Public Servants in Separate Bribery Cases

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Odisha Vigilance have apprehended two public servants in separate bribery cases in the state, officials said on Thursday.

The CBI arrested the Principal of an Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) in Nuapada district for allegedly accepting a bribe from an Auxiliary Nurse Midwifery (ANM) worker in connection with extending her service.

The central agency registered the case on October 7 after receiving a complaint alleging that the principal had demanded Rs 20,000 from the complainant for recommending her name for an extension of service at EMRS, Nuapada.

Following negotiations, the accused allegedly agreed to accept Rs 12,000. Acting on the complaint, the CBI laid a trap on October 7 and apprehended the accused while allegedly accepting the bribe.

The accused has been identified as C. Krishna Murthy Naidu, Principal of Eklavya Model Residential School, Nuapada.

In a separate case, Odisha Vigilance apprehended a programmer working at the office of the District Education Officer-cum-District Project Coordinator of the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan in Jagatsinghpur district.

The official, identified as Chandrajit Parija, was allegedly demanding and accepting Rs 30,000 from an executant for clearing pending bills related to the installation of digital blackboards at schools in the district.

According to Odisha Vigilance, Parija was a member of the procurement and technical committee responsible for inspecting the installation work. His certification was required before the bills could be cleared for payment.

The vigilance agency alleged that despite repeated requests from the complainant, Parija did not inspect the completed work and instead demanded Rs 30,000 for facilitating clearance of the pending bills.

The complainant subsequently approached Odisha Vigilance, alleging harassment and seeking action against the official.

Following the complaint, vigilance officials laid a trap and apprehended Parija while allegedly receiving the bribe from the complainant on Thursday.

After the trap operation, simultaneous searches were launched at three locations linked to Parija as part of an investigation into his disproportionate assets.

Odisha Vigilance said a case, numbered 39/26, had been registered against Parija at the Kataka Vigilance Police Station on Wednesday.

The two cases involve separate investigations by the central and state anti-corruption agencies into alleged bribery by public servants in Odisha.