Sambalpur Vigilance officials on Monday arrested two government employees for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000 from a broiler farm owner. The accused have been identified as Subha Prakash Soren, Block Veterinary Officer of Rairakhol Veterinary Sub-division, and Maheswar Sahu, Programme Assistant.
The incident came to light after a complaint was registered through the vigilance toll-free number 1064. The complainant, who owns a broiler farm established under the state government’s Go-Sugam scheme in April 2025, was entitled to a Rs 90,000 subsidy. While the first installment had already been paid, the remaining amount of Rs 54,000 was pending release.
According to vigilance sources, Soren demanded Rs 5,000 as a bribe to process the pending subsidy payment. The farm owner reported the matter to the vigilance department, which then carried out a successful sting operation resulting in the arrest of the two officials.
The entire bribe amount was recovered from the accused. Concurrently, searches are underway at two locations linked to Soren to investigate allegations of disproportionate assets. The accused have been charged under the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.
