Vigilance / Police SI jumps into pond to escape Odisha Vigilance after allegedly taking Rs 10,000 bribe; arrested

Sambalpur, Nov 5: Odisha Vigilance on Thursday arrested a police officer posted at Mahulpali police station in Sambalpur district for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 to settle a case, a source said.

The accused, Sub-Inspector Sujit Kumar Mahanta, was caught while allegedly accepting the money from a complainant in connection with a miscellaneous case registered at Mahulpali police station.

According to Vigilance, Mahanta was the investigating officer in the case and had demanded Rs 10,000 from the complainant to bring the matter to a final settlement.

Acting on the complainant's prior information, a Vigilance team laid a trap and caught the officer while he was allegedly receiving the bribe. On noticing the Vigilance team, Mahanta reportedly jumped into a pond in an attempt to evade arrest. However, the team apprehended him and subsequently arrested him.

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He will be produced before the Special Vigilance Court in Sambalpur, the source added.

In this connection, Sambalpur Vigilance police station has registered Case No. 21/2026 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.

Further investigation into the case is underway, Vigilance said.