Bhubaneswar, Nov 6: Odisha Vigilance on Friday caught the Sub-Registrar of Baliapal in Baleshwar district red-handed while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 7,000 from a land buyer for registering a sale deed.
The accused has been identified as Manisha Mishra, an Odisha Revenue Service (ORS) officer currently serving as Sub-Registrar of Baliapal. She joined government service in 2024 and is presently under probation.
According to Vigilance officials, Mishra had allegedly demanded Rs 10,000 from the complainant for facilitating the registration of a sale deed involving 0.14 decimal of land recorded under the category ‘Bajyapti Stithiban’.
As per the guidelines issued by the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, land of this category is required to be treated as ‘Stithiban’ and is eligible for registration. However, despite repeated requests by the complainant, who cited the relevant government guidelines, the officer allegedly refused to process the registration and insisted on receiving a bribe.
When the complainant expressed his inability to pay Rs 10,000, Mishra allegedly reduced the demanded amount to Rs 7,000. Unable to tolerate the alleged harassment, the complainant approached the Odisha Vigilance authorities.
Acting on the complaint, a Vigilance team laid a trap and apprehended Mishra while she was allegedly demanding and accepting the bribe. The entire tainted amount of Rs 7,000 was recovered from her possession and seized.
Following the trap, simultaneous searches were launched at two locations linked to the officer to investigate possible disproportionate assets.
In this connection, Baleshwar Vigilance Police Station Case No. 26/2026 has been registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Further investigation is underway.
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