Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance team apprehended Nighat Parbeen, a Forest Rights Assistant (FRA) stationed at the office of the sub-collector in Kuchinda, Sambalpur district. Parbeen was allegedly caught accepting a bribe of Rs 8000.
According to an official release, Parbeen had demanded an illegal gratification of Rs 23,000 from a representative of beneficiaries under the Forest Rights Act. This bribe was allegedly solicited to expedite the processing of a file for issuing Individual Forest Rights (IFR). Earlier, she had purportedly accepted Rs 15,000 and was demanding an additional Rs 8,000 to facilitate the work.
The beneficiaries, being economically disadvantaged, were unable to fulfill her demands. Consequently, they lodged a complaint with the Vigilance department, prompting authorities to take action. A trap was set, leading to the apprehension of Parbeen red-handed while accepting the bribe money.
Simultaneously, the Vigilance team is conducting searches at two locations linked to the accused. These searches aim to determine whether Parbeen has accumulated assets disproportionate to her known sources of income.
