Assistant CT and GST Officer Caught Red-Handed While Accepting Bribe:

Assistant CT and GST Officer Caught Red-Handed While Accepting Bribe On October 29 (Wednesday), Odisha Vigilance arrested Umakanta Mahakur while accepting a bribe of Rs 12,000 from a local businessman. He is an assistant CT and GST Officer of Titlagargh in Bolangir District. The businessman had not paid professional tax for three consecutive financial years (Rs 2,500 per year). For the non-payment, he was served with a notice by the accused officer to deposit Rs 23,600 including the tax amount, fine and interest, according to the Vigilance officials.

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When the businessman went to Mahakur and asked him to accept just the tax amount, the officer reportedly refused and asked for a bribe of Rs. 12,000 to cancel the penalty and interest. The businessman did not want to pay the bribe, so he filed a complaint with the Odisha Vigilance department. The team further laid a trap and exposed Mahakur red-handed while he was accepting the bribe. However, the whole amount, Rs. 12,000 was recovered from his possession and seized in the presence of witnesses.

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After the trap, many continuous searches are being conducted at multiple locations connected to Umakanta Mahakur from a Disproportionate Assets (DA) angle. Investigation is still ongoing. However, a case has also been registered under Sambalpur Vigilance Police Station Case No. 21/2025 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Amendment Act, 2018.