Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance on Thursday apprehended Mousumi Behera, Deputy Ranger of Phulnakhara Range under the City Forest Division, Bhubaneswar, while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from a staff member of the same range for releasing bills related to plantation maintenance.

According to Vigilance officials, Behera had allegedly demanded the money for clearing bills towards the maintenance of three plantation sites from July to September 2026. The work included watch and ward duties, watering and the application of fertilisers.

She had allegedly threatened not to release bills for the upcoming months if the staff member failed to pay the demanded bribe.

Aggrieved by the demand and unable to meet it, the staff member approached Odisha Vigilance and lodged a complaint. Acting on the complaint, a Vigilance team laid a trap and apprehended Behera while she was allegedly accepting Rs 1 lakh from the complainant.

The entire tainted bribe amount of Rs 1 lakh was recovered from her possession and seized by the Vigilance team.

Following the trap, simultaneous searches were launched at two locations linked to the accused Deputy Ranger to investigate allegations of possession of assets disproportionate to her known sources of income.

In this connection, a vigilance case dated October 28, 2026, has been registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.

Further investigation into the case is underway.