Odisha junior engineer arrested over street‑light estimate bribery

On 19 June, the Odisha Vigilance Department arrested junior engineer Soma Das of the General Electrical Division in Jagatsinghpur district after catching him demanding a 15,000‑rupee bribe for preparing a street‑light installation estimate for a village panchayat. The sting, prompted by a complaint from the local executive officer, recovered the full cash amount in Das’s office, and searches of his rented house in Cuttack and his office in Jagatsinghpur led to his detention, with a court appearance scheduled for Saturday.

In a related operation the same day, vigilance officers also raided the property of assistant executive engineer Satyanarayan Sethi of Kotapada block, Koraput district, seizing immovable and movable assets worth several crores, including gold, silver, cash, land, farmhouses and a vehicle.