Vigilance raid on office of asst. engineer in Koraput of Odisha, caught red-handed while accepting bribe

Koraput: A vigilance raid has been conducted on the office of assistant engineer in Koraput district of Odisha. He has been caught red-handed while accepting a bribe.

The officer has been identified as K. Srinivas Patra, he was working as an Assistant Engineer in the office of SDO, Electrical, TATA Power Southern Odisha Distribution Ltd.(TPSODL) in Jeypore of Koraput district in Odisha.

The officer was apprehended by the officers of Vigilance, Koraput Division for demanding and accepting undue advantage (bribe) of Rs.20,000/- (Rupees Twenty Thousand).

The bribe was allegedly accepted from a complainant in order to facilitate his appointment
as a ladder man under the office of SDO, Electrical, TPSODL.

Based on the above complaint, a trap was laid on September 14 wherein the accused K. Srinivas Patra, was caught by the officers of Vigilance Koraput Division in his official chamber at Power House, Jeypore while demanding and accepting undue advantage (bribe) of Rs.20,000/- (Rupees Twenty Thousand) from complainant.

The bribe money was recovered from the possession of Patra and seized in presence of witnesses.

Right hand wash as well as office table drawer wash of Patra gave positive chemical reaction, confirming acceptance and handling of bribe money by him.

Following the trap, simultaneous searches have been launched on the rented residential house and office chamber of Sri Patra at Jeypore and his house at native village of Chhatrapur in Ganjam district. He has been arrested and will be forwarded to the Court.

In this connection, Koraput Vigilance Case has been registered under the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, and further investigation is underway.

“We are looking into the case and are in touch with the State Vigilance Department. The bribery charge against the Engineer is a matter of serious concern for us and against the work ethics of TPSODL. We have already initiated an internal enquiry through a high level committee comprising of senior most officials. Strict action will be taken against the erring officer which may include suspension and even termination of services.” said Mr Arvind Singh, CEO, TPSODL.