Bhubaneswar: The Vigilance officials in Odisha today arrested the executive officer of Khandapada NAC in Nayagarh, Niranjan Dhal, for demanding and accepting Rs 20,000 as bribe from a contractor.

Dhal allegedly sought Rs 20,000 as bribe from the contractor to facilitate the release of his bill. The contractor reported the matter to the Vigilance department.

Subsequently, a trap was laid and Dhal was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe in his official quarters today.

The entire bribe money was recovered from the possession of Dhal and seized, said the Vigilance department in a statement.

The Vigilance sleuths are now conducting simultaneous searches at five locations linked to Dhal to find out any disproportionate assets (DA) amassed by him.

The Vigilance Police Station in the capital city here registered a case against Dhal under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act-2018.