India, April 2 -- An Assistant Engineer with the Rural Works Division was caught red-handed by Odisha Vigilance officials while demanding and accepting a bribe to clear pending work bills.

Per Vigilance sources, Assistant Engineer Naresh Kumar Das demanded and accepted a 1 lakh bribe from a contractor at his office in Bhubaneswar to process pending bills worth approximately 7 lakh.

Acting on a complaint, Vigilance officials set a trap and apprehended Das while he was accepting the bribe. He is employed with the Rural Works (Public Health) Division in Bhubaneswar.

The Vigilance also recovered and seized 1.26 lakh in cash from Das, which is suspected to be illicitly acquired. Following this, Vigilance teams conducted searches at his res...