An Odisha-cadre IAS officer was arrested by the State Vigilance Department after he was caught red-handed accepting a bribe of ₹1 lakh here on Monday.
According to sources, Bijay Ketan Upadhyaya, who was presently working as Director of Horticulture, was caught by vigilance sleuths while accepting a bribe from a farmhouse owner for clearing a bill.
Rank five-holder
Dr. Upadhyaya, a 2009-batch IAS officer of Balasore district, had secured all-India rank five in the civil services examination in 2008.
The State government placed him under suspension with immediate effect.
“Transparency is an important pillar of this government. We will not spare anyone indulging in any corrupt practices,” the State government said in a statement.
Since 2000, as many as 31 IAS officers have been probed by State Vigilance Department in connection with different cases of corruption, according to official sources.
‘Mo Sarkar’ initiative
Sources said that information about the alleged demand for bribe was received as part of the feedback collected under the State government’s ‘Mo Sarkar’ (my government) initiative.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had launched the initiative on October 2 this year with the objective to provide service with dignity to people in a transparent manner.
