Bhubaneswar, Feb 19 (PTI) The Odisha vigilance department on Wednesday arrested a deputy collector posted in Keonjhar district for allegedly taking Rs 50,000 bribe, an official said.

The accused, identified as Sarat Kumar Giri, is a senior OAS officer serving as deputy collector and the competent authority for land acquisition at Keonjhar collectorate, the department said in a statement.

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In September last year, Keonjhar district judge's court had passed an order for the payment of Rs 6.96 lakh compensation in the joint account of the complainant and his brothers towards land acquired for construction of NH-215 (now NH-20) by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), it said.

Since then, the complainant visited the office of the deputy collector several times requesting him to transfer the amount to their joint bank account. However, the officer demanded a 10 per cent commission to transfer it, the statement added.

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After the complainant cited his poor condition, Giri reduced the amount to Rs 50,000. Finally, finding no alternative, the complainant approached vigilance authorities.

Acting on the complainant's request, anti-corruption wing officials laid a trap and apprehended the officer in his office chamber, it said.

"The entire bribe money was recovered from Giri and seized in presence of witnesses," the statement added.

Following the trap, the vigilance launched simultaneous searches on the parental house of the deputy collector at Khordha, his rented residential house at Keonjhar, and his office chamber.

In this connection, a case has been registered at Balasore vigilance PS under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)