- Odisha Vigilance apprehended Ajay Kumar Garanaik while he was allegedly accepting the remaining bribe amount.
- The officer allegedly demanded the total amount for facilitating the release of ₹84.62 lakh in land acquisition compensation.
- Vigilance recovered the money, registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act and initiated searches at three locations.
Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance on Monday apprehended a Special Land Acquisition Officer of the Sambalpur-Talcher Doubling Rail Line Project while allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹3.10 lakh from a landowner.
The accused has been identified as Ajay Kumar Garanaik. According to Odisha Vigilance, he had allegedly demanded a total bribe of ₹5.10 lakh from the complainant in exchange for facilitating the release of land acquisition compensation amounting to ₹84,62,288.
The officer had reportedly received ₹2 lakh from the landowner on October 27 and was demanding the remaining ₹3.10 lakh.
Officer Allegedly Threatened Landowner
According to the Vigilance complaint, Garanaik had allegedly assured favourable treatment in matters relating to land acquisition for the proposed third railway line project.
He also allegedly threatened to create difficulties during future land acquisition proceedings if the complainant failed to pay the remaining bribe amount.
Unable to bear the alleged harassment and pressure, the landowner approached Odisha Vigilance and reported the matter.
Vigilance Team Recovers Entire Bribe Amount
Acting on the complaint, an Odisha Vigilance team laid a trap on Monday.
The officer was allegedly caught red-handed while accepting the remaining ₹3.10 lakh from the complainant. The entire tainted amount was recovered from his possession and seized by the Vigilance team.
Following the trap operation, simultaneous searches were launched at three locations linked to the accused to investigate possible possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Case Registered Under Prevention of Corruption Act
Odisha Vigilance has registered a case against Garanaik under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.
The investigation is underway, and the searches are part of the ongoing probe into the allegations.
The case has once again brought attention to corruption risks in land acquisition processes, particularly where compensation payments affect landowners.
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