Jeypore, July 8 (UDN): The Odisha Vigilance Department on Tuesday arrested a senior mining official after allegedly catching him accepting a bribe of ₹2 lakh from a sand leaseholder in Koraput district.
The accused, Satyajit Rout, Deputy Director (Geology)-cum-Deputy Director of Mines, Jeypore, allegedly demanded the money to facilitate the extension of a sand quarry lease and to provide favourable assistance in future spot auctions of sand sources.
According to Vigilance officials, the leaseholder lodged a complaint after being asked to pay the bribe for the official favour. Following verification of the allegation, a trap was laid, and the accused was allegedly caught while accepting the illegal gratification.
Officials recovered the entire ₹2 lakh bribe amount from Rout’s possession, and the tainted cash was seized as evidence.
Subsequently, Vigilance teams carried out simultaneous searches at properties linked to the accused. During a search of his residence in Rayagada, officials recovered an additional ₹2.9 lakh in cash. The total cash seized during the operation now stands at ₹4.9 lakh. Authorities are verifying the source of the recovered money as part of the ongoing investigation.
A case has been registered at the Koraput Vigilance Police Station under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Investigators are continuing searches and examining documents to determine whether the accused was involved in similar instances of corruption.
The Vigilance Department said further details will be disclosed as the investigation progresses.
