Odisha Sub-registrar ITI principal caught while taking bribes

Bhubaneswar, Nov 6 (PTI) An Odisha Revenue Service (ORS) officer and a government Industrial Training Institute (ITI) principal were caught while they were allegedly accepting bribes in two separate cases, officials said.

    The sub-registrar of Baliapal in Balasore district was caught while accepting Rs 7,000 from a person for registering a land sale deed, they said.

    According to the Vigilance Department, the officer had initially demanded Rs 10,000 from the complainant, a vendee, but reduced the amount to Rs 7,000 after he expressed his inability to pay the full sum.

    Acting on the complaint, vigilance sleuths caught the officer while she was accepting the bribe and seized the money from her possession.

    A case has been registered against her at the Balasore Vigilance police station under the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.

    The officer, who joined the service in 2024, was on probation and had been posted as sub-registrar at Baliapal, officials said.

    The principal of the government ITI in Balangir was arrested while allegedly accepting Rs 30,000 from an instructor and other guest instructors of the institute for ensuring continuation of their services.

    The principal had allegedly demanded a total bribe of Rs 1.15 lakh from nine instructors for the regular release of their salaries and threatened to disengage them if they failed to pay, officials said.

    Following a complaint by the guest instructors, vigilance sleuths caught the principal while he was accepting Rs 30,000 as the first instalment of the demanded amount, they said.

    Vigilance officials subsequently conducted searches at his office, residence and other properties, and seized Rs 5.16 lakh in cash from his flat in Rourkela.

    A case has been registered against the principal at the Sambalpur Vigilance police station, officials said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)