Two Odisha excise officers caught taking bribe

The Vigilance wing of the Odisha Police on Wednesday caught an excise superintendent and excise assistant sub inspector receiving Rs 40,000 bribe from a licensed liquor vendor red handed, said officials.

“Sitarani Pattayat, Superintendent of Excise, Keonjhar and Bijay Kumar Mohanta, Assistant Sub Inspector Champua Excise Station in Keonjhar have been apprehended by Odisha Vigilance for demanding and taking undue advantage (bribe) of Rs.40,000 from a licensed liquor vendor to allow him to run his business smoothly,” the Vigilance said in a statement.

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“Since taking charge as Excise Superintendent four months back, Pattayat was demanding bribes from the licensed vendor as regular payment to allow smooth functioning of his business. Finding no other way, the vendor reported the matter to Vigilance authorities narrating harassment by the excise superintendent,” it added.

Acting on a complaint, a trap was laid, wherein the accused Superintendent of Excise, Keonjahr was nabbed by a team of Odisha Vigilance, along with her colleague Bijay Kumar Mohanta, ASI Champua Excise Station, who took the from the vendor as per telephonic instruction of accused Pattayat. The entire bribe money was recovered and seized from them in presence of witnesses. Following the trap, simultaneous searches have been launched on the rented residential house of Pattayat at Keonjhar, residential house at Baripada town, rented residential house of her spouse at Dhamnagar, Bhadrak and her office chamber and residential house of Mohanta at Boisinga, Mayurbhanj and his office room. Both the accused persons have been arrested and will be forwarded to the Court, it added.