India, Nov. 25 -- On charges of demanding and accepting a bribe to provide a favourable land conversion report, an Assistant Revenue Inspector (ARI) in Kendrapara district was apprehended today by Odisha Vigilance officials. According to Vigilance sources, Abhimanyu Behera, ARI of the Nikirei RI Circle, was caught red-handed in his office while taking a bribe of Rs 12,000 from a landowner in exchange for furnishing a positive verification report.

The landowner had applied online on October 31, 2025, to convert his agricultural land into homestead land before the Tahsildar of Derabish. After preliminary verification, he was summoned to appear before the ARI-cum-In-Charge RI of Nikirei for an enquiry.

During the meeting, Behera allegedly ...