A Block Education Officer (BEO) and a Junior Clerk of the Education Department in Sundargarh district were arrested by the Vigilance police on Thursday allegedly for accepting a bribe of Rs 35,000 from a headmaster (HM) of a Government school for not initiating action against him for not submitting a utilisation certificate timely.
Surendra Kumar Sahoo, BEO of Hemgiri, and Biranchi Khilei, Junior Clerk in the office of BEO, were caught red-handed while receiving the bribe from Narayan Bagh, Headmaster of Sahashpur Upper Primary School. Bagh was reportedly being threatened by the BEO for initiating action against him and suspending him for not submitting the utilisation certificate against the funds he received for school building maintenance.
The BEO reportedly demanded Rs 50,000, which was later negotiated for Rs 35,000. Bagh tipped up Vigilance officials about it, following which a trap was laid. Rourkela Vigilance DSP BK Nayak said, "We arrested Surendra Kumar Sahoo and Biranchi Khilei and conducted a search in their houses to trace assets disproportionate to their known sources of income."