Jagatsinghpur: Odisha Vigilance officials on Thursday apprehended Manoj Ranjan Nayak, Block Programme Manager (NHM) at Kujang Community Health Centre (CHC) in Jagatsinghpur district, while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 20,000 from an ASHA worker.

According to Odisha Vigilance, Nayak had allegedly demanded the money from the health worker after threatening to prepone her retirement based on the date of birth mentioned in her Aadhaar card.

The complainant reportedly had around two more years of service based on the date of birth recorded in her School Leaving Certificate—May 17, 1966—which she had submitted at the time of her appointment as an ASHA worker.

However, Nayak allegedly pointed to a discrepancy in her Aadhaar card and threatened to end her service unless she paid ₹20,000. Following the alleged harassment, the ASHA worker approached the Vigilance authorities and reported the matter.

Acting on the complaint, a team of Odisha Vigilance laid a trap on Thursday and caught Nayak while allegedly accepting the bribe from the complainant.

The entire tainted amount of Rs 20,000 was recovered from Nayak's possession and seized by the Vigilance officials.

Following the trap, simultaneous searches are reportedly underway at two locations linked to Nayak as part of a disproportionate assets (DA) angle.

In connection with the case, Kataka Vigilance Police Station has registered Case No. 31 dated August 19, 2026, under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.

Further investigation into the case is underway.