Vigilance nabs Rayagada RD Engineer while accepting Rs.2 lakhs bribe
Dr.Badal Tah,Odishabarta
Rayagada, June 24: Prasanna Kumar Pattnaik, the Executive Engineer of the Rural Works Division (RWD-I) in Rayagada, was arrested by Odisha Vigilance for accepting a bribe of Rs.2 lakh. Pattnaik demanded Rs.2.5 lakh bribe, later settled at Rs.2 lakh, from a contractor named Trinath Nayak from Kashipur. The money was demanded to clear pending work bills worth Rs.50 lakhs and to issue a work experience certificate needed for upcoming tenders.
Following a complaint by the said contractor, a team led by Vigilance DSP Suryakanti Takri & DSP Abhaya Pradhan laid a trap. They caught Pattnaik red-handed on Tuesday night at his official residence while receiving the chemically marked notes. Beyond the ₹2 lakh bribe money, a subsequent search of his government quarters unearthed an additional ₹3.39 lakh in cash, bringing the total cash recovery to ₹5.39 lakh.
The Odisha Vigilance Department launched simultaneous searches across multiple locations linked to Pattnaik. These included his government quarter and office in Rayagada, his residence in Bhubaneswar, and his native house in Nayagarh. Pattanaik was supposed to retire during the fag end of this month.A case has been registered at Koraput Vigilance Police Station vide Case No. 12/2026 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Further investigation is underway.
