Odisha Vigilance Busts Digital Bribery Network Utilizing PhonePe and Cheques

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance has recently made a significant breakthrough by uncovering bribery cases involving modern digital payment methods. In a groundbreaking development, two individuals have been apprehended for accepting bribes through the popular digital payment platform, PhonePe. Additionally, another case involved undisclosed cheques used for bribery transactions.

According to an official statement released on Tuesday, both government officials accepting bribes and private individuals assisting them have been arrested in connection with these cases.

One of the detainees, Charles Nayak, a tahsildar from Karanjia, was caught accepting a staggering bribe amounting to Rs 12 lakh. Remarkably, this incident represents the first instance of a bribe being solicited through blank cheques, making it a significant milestone in the fight against corruption.

Nayak, in order to release a compensation cheque, demanded the bribe in the form of two blank cheques without specifying the payee’s name. He has since been arrested and will be presented before the special judge at the vigilance court in Baripada, Mayurbhanj.

In a separate case, Taruna Ranjan Nayak, an employee of the grievance redressal forum at Tata Power Central Odisha Distribution Limited (TPCODL) in Bhubaneswar, was apprehended alongside his associate, Sailaza Muduli. The two were caught red-handed while extorting a bribe of Rs 10,000 from a complainant through the digital platform PhonePe. The bribe was demanded in exchange for expediting the processing of the complainant’s request for a new electricity connection.

The third case involves three officials from the minor irrigation division in Berhampur, Ganjam district. The accused individuals, namely Prasanna Kumar Padhy and Dhirendra Kumar Panda, who are junior engineers, and supervisor Ajaya Patra, were arrested for soliciting bribes totalling Rs 24,000. The investigation revealed that Panda accepted Rs 10,000 in cash, while Patra had previously received Rs 14,000 via PhonePe. Following these arrests, raids have been conducted at the properties owned by these officials.

In response to these bribery cases conducted through digital channels, the Odisha government’s anti-corruption wing took to Twitter to assert its commitment to combating corruption. They warned potential wrongdoers that utilizing PhonePe as a means to facilitate bribes does not guarantee safety, as they possess the capability to track digital footprints and pursue offenders relentlessly.