Malkangiri: Odisha Vigilance on Tuesday apprehended a Revenue Inspector (RI) of Jharapali Circle under Malkangiri Tahasil while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 8,000 from an applicant for facilitating the issuance of a Scheduled Caste certificate.

The accused official has been identified as Suraj Bala, Revenue Inspector, Jharapali Circle.

According to Odisha Vigilance, the complainant had applied online for issuance of a Scheduled Caste certificate in favour of his spouse in accordance with the prescribed procedure of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department and had deposited the required fee.

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However, Bala allegedly delayed the verification process and demanded Rs 10,000 from the applicant for submitting the verification report. He reportedly asked the complainant to pay Rs 8,000 initially and the remaining Rs 2,000 after completion of the work.

Aggrieved by the alleged demand and harassment, the complainant approached the Vigilance authorities. Following the complaint, a trap was laid on Tuesday.

Vigilance officials apprehended Bala while he was allegedly accepting the Rs 8,000 bribe in his office chamber. The entire tainted amount was recovered from his possession and seized.

Following the trap, simultaneous searches were launched at two locations linked to the accused official as part of a disproportionate assets (DA) angle investigation.

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In connection with the case, Koraput Vigilance Police Station Case No. 19/2026 has been registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, as amended in 2018. Further investigation is underway.

According to Vigilance, this is not the first time Bala has faced action in a bribery case. He was previously involved in another trap case registered as Koraput Vigilance Police Station Case No. 33/2023, in which he was allegedly caught accepting a Rs 15,000 bribe for issuing a notice of appearance in an EC case. That matter is currently sub judice.