Sundargarh, July 10: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Akhilesh Kumar Verma, Chief Manager of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 20,000 from a complainant, officials said on Thursday.

The CBI, in a statement, said it apprehended MCL's Chief Manager (Mining) for Basundhara area in Odisha's Sundargarh district for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 20,000 from the complainant.

According to CBI sources, Verma had initially demanded Rs 30,000 from the complainant to expedite the release of Rs 11.37 lakh in compensation for land acquisition involving the complainant’s relative. After negotiations, the bribe amount was reduced to Rs 20,000.

Acting on the complaint, the CBI laid a trap and caught Verma red-handed while accepting the money and later arrested him.

Following the arrest, CBI officials conducted a raid at Verma’s office and seized relevant documents for further investigation. He was later taken to Bhubaneswar for interrogation and legal proceedings, the central agency said.

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