Official held for taking bribe

Vigilance sleuths arrested the executive officer of Ranajhali gram panchayat in Ganjam district for allegedly taking Rs 2,000 bribe from a person to prepare the final bill of a newly-constructed Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) house.

The bribe amount and some documents were seized from accused Rabi Patnaik who was arrested yesterday, vigilance officials said.

The accused had taken Rs 10,000 from him and demanded Rs 2,000 more. His house at Ranajhali village was also searched, said vigilance SP (Berhampur) Manoranjan Panda.