Vigilance Arrests SCB Data Entry Operator for Extorting Bribe from Patient’s Attendant

Bhubaneswar: Vigilance officials arrested Smruti Ranjan Sahoo, a Data Entry Operator (DEO) at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack for taking bribe from a patient’s attendant to give medicine meant for free distribution.

DEO Smruti Ranjan Sahoo posted at the Department of Hepatology of the medical college hospital was caught red-handed while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 2,000 from the son of a poor patient admitted for treatment for Hepatitis.

Sahoo tried to extort the bribe to hand over the prescribed medicines, which are provided free of cost by the government. When the complainant refused to pay the bribe, Sahoo denied providing the medicines. The complainant reported the matter to the Vigilance.

The vigilance officials trapped Sahoo while he was accepting the illegal gratification. The entire marked-up bribe money was recovered and seized from his possession. Searches are currently underway at two locations linked to Sahoo to investigate disproportionate assets.