Bhubaneswar: Vigilance sleuths on Wednesday arrested a forester and an elephant squad member from the Dihadol section in Dhenkanal district for allegedly accepting a Rs 10,000 bribe from a poor farmer, a vigilance statement said.
The accused, forester Biswanath Soren and elephant squad member Sudipta Sahoo, were caught red-handed while taking the money as the remaining part of a Rs 25,000 bribe demand. Soren had earlier forced the farmer to pay Rs 15,000 by threatening to seize his tilling equipment. The victim reported the matter to vigilance, leading to a trap.
“Following the successful trap, simultaneous searches are going on at four locations linked to the accused,” a vigilance officer said. A case has been registered at Cuttack vigilance police station under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018.