Odisha Engineers Nabbed for Bribery in Contract Payment Case

Two engineers from Odisha Lift Irrigation Corporation were arrested by vigilance officers for demanding and accepting a bribe from a contractor. The officials allegedly sought Rs. 1.10 lakh to release pending payments for a project, leading to their arrest following a complaint.

In a significant operation spearheaded by vigilance officers, two engineers from the Odisha Lift Irrigation Corporation (OLIC) were arrested on Monday for allegedly soliciting a bribe of Rs 60,000. The engineers were caught while accepting the bribe, intended to facilitate the release of pending payments to a contractor.

The accused have been identified as Assistant Executive Engineer Harekrushna Singh and Junior Engineer Subrat Mohanty, both of whom were stationed at OLIC's Udala sub-division in Mayurbhanj district. Detailed observations revealed the distribution of the bribe amount, with Rs 32,000 earmarked for Singh and Rs 28,000 for Mohanty.

The investigation disclosed that the contractor had executed projects valued at approximately Rs 25 lakh, yet bills amounting to Rs 5 lakh remained unsettled. Faced with this extortionate demand, the aggrieved contractor reached out to vigilance authorities, culminating in the arrest of the engineers and seizure of the bribe money.

(With inputs from agencies.)