Nabarangpur/Umarkote: Umarkote Assistant Agriculture Officer Nilakantha Parida and Block Technology Manager (BTM) Surendra Singh Bundela have been caught in a vigilance trap. Both were apprehended while accepting a bribe of ₹5,000 from a farmer to facilitate a subsidy for borewell digging. The vigilance team seized the marked cash from them.
Following their arrest, raids were conducted at multiple locations, including the Assistant Agriculture Officer’s office, his rented house in Dhodara, his ancestral home in Nuagaon block, and the BTM’s office, government quarters, and other premises.
The case pertains to farmer Lakhidhar Majhi from Jampadar village in Singsari Panchayat under Umarkote block, who had dug a borewell under the Jalanidhi scheme. The scheme provided a subsidy of ₹50,000, and the two officers demanded ₹5,000 as a bribe to process the verification report. Lakhidhar reported the matter to the Nabarangpur Vigilance Department.
How the Trap Was Executed
Today, both officers visited the farmer’s land for inspection and later demanded the bribe. Lakhidhar invited them to his house, saying he would hand over the money there. Around 12 noon, after the inspection, the officers arrived at his house, where the BTM, Bundela, accepted the bribe. The vigilance team, which had already set up the trap, caught them red-handed and seized the cash.
Following this, the Vigilance team raided the Umarkote Agriculture Office and seized relevant scheme-related documents. Both officers were taken to the Jeypore headquarters for interrogation.
Investigations revealed that BTM Bundela is originally from Gwalior, while Assistant Agriculture Officer Parida is from Jagatsinghpur district.
Officials Involved in the Operation
The raid was led by DSP Jayashree Pradhan, along with officers Ajit Padhi, Dibyanandan Behera, Basant Bag, Balaram Majhi, and Nagabhushan Nayak.