Sub-collector arrested for taking bribe

ROURKELA: The sub-collector of Panposh, Rupak Kumar Pattnaik, was caught accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 here on Wednesday. He was taken to Sambalpur where he will be produced in the Vigilance court.According to sources, one Manas Chandra Boral had applied for a piece of land on a lease basis at Padmapur Balu Ghat of Kuanrmunda in the district. Since the sub-collector of Panposh was the final authority to grant the lease, he had approached Rupak Pattnaik to consider his case.Recently, Pattnaik allegedly called Boral to his residence office and demanded Rs 10,000 from him to do the job. Although Boral was reluctant, he reportedly agreed to pay the money, since he had no other option. He, however, informed the local vigilance office and accordingly a trap was laid.Around 3.45 pm on Wednesday, Boral reached the residence-office of the sub-collector and handed over chemical coated Rs 10,000 to him. The vigilance team led by DSP P K Das nabbed him red-handed. "We had laid a trap after receiving a complaint against the sub-collector Rupak Pattnaik and according to our plan we nabbed him," said Das. "We are shifting him to Sambalpur, where he will be produced in vigilance court," Das added. The arrest of high-level officer like the sub-collector, a few days after the "vigilance awareness week" has exposed the existence of corruption in the district. Pattnaik had taken oath to fight corruption in the presence of Sundergarh collector had administered oath to hundreds of government officials and staff.