Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance today arrested a Junior Engineer (JE) in Mayurbhanj district for demanding and receiving Rs 32,000 as bribe from a contractor.

Accused Sushil Kumar Singh, the Junior Engineer (JE) of Badasahi block in Mayurbhanj, was allegedly taking the bribe for clearing the bill of a road project.

The contractor was assigned the execution of a road project worth around Rs 5 lakh under the MGNREGA in Badasahi block.

The accused JE had allegedly sought Rs 32,000 (around 7 per cent of the project cost) as bribe from the contractor to clear the bill.

The contractor had lodged a complaint in this regard with Odisha Vigilance. Subsequently, a trap was laid and the JE was arrested while accepting the bribe from the complainant.

The entire bribe money was recovered from the accused JE and seized, said the Vigilance Department.

Following the trap, simultaneous searches are going on at three locations linked to the JE to unearth any disproportionate asset (DA).

The Baleswar Vigilance police registered a case against the accused JE under the relevant Sections of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act-2018. Further investigation on the matter is underway, added the Vigilance Department.