Bhubaneswar, Nov 7 — Odisha Vigilance officials have recovered and seized an additional Rs 5.16 lakh in cash during ongoing searches at the flat of Suresh Kumar Dalabehera, Principal of Government ITI, Balangir, in Rourkela, officials said on Saturday.
Dalabehera was earlier caught by the Vigilance team while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 from guest instructors.
He had demanded the money in exchange for facilitating the continuation of their services and ensuring the regular disbursement of their salaries, according to Odisha Vigilance.
Following the trap operation, Vigilance officials initiated searches at several locations linked to the accused.
During the course of the ongoing searches, the officials recovered an additional Rs 5.16 lakh in cash from Dalabehera's residential flat in Rourkela and subsequently seized the amount.
The searches are still underway, with Vigilance officials continuing their investigation into the case.
Further details are awaited.
Meanwhile, continuing its crackdown on corrupt government officials, the Odisha vigilance on Friday nabbed a woman Odisha Revenue Services (ORS) officer while taking a bribe from a vendee to allow registration of a sale deed of a landed plot as Bajyapti stithiban.
The accused official, identified as Miss Manisha Mishra, ORS, is presently posted as Sub-Registrar at Baliapal in Baleshwar district. The accused Sub-Registrar allegedly demanded Rs 10,000 from the complainant for allowing registration of the sale deed.
However, when the vendee expressed his inability to pay the amount, she reduced the bribe demand to Rs 7,000, according to a Vigilance statement.
The complainant had approached her seeking registration of a 0.14-acre plot of land recorded as 'Bajyapti Stithiban'. As per the guidelines issued by the Revenue and Disaster Management (R&DM) Department, land of this category is to be treated as Stithiban and is eligible for registration.
Despite repeated requests by the vendee, the accused officer allegedly refused to act on the basis of the department's guidelines and insisted on payment of the bribe.
Aggrieved by the demand and unable to meet it, the complainant approached the Odisha Vigilance authorities and reported the alleged harassment.
Acting on his complaint, a Vigilance team laid a trap and apprehended Mishra while she was accepting Rs 7,000 from the complainant on Friday. The entire tainted bribe amount was recovered from her possession and seized by the Vigilance team.