Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance has apprehended Sri Aswini Kumar Panda, an OAS officer and Tahasildar of Bamra, Sambalpur district, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs. 15,000. Sri Panda was OAS Topper of 2019 Batch.
He was nabbed today, September 12, 2025, while taking the bribe from a complainant for the conversion of agricultural land to homestead land in a mutation case. His office driver, Sri P. Praveen Kumar, has also been taken into custody.
According to Vigilance authorities, the complainant had been seeking the conversion of his agricultural land for approximately a month. Sri Panda initially demanded a bribe of Rs. 20,000 to process the conversion and issue the RORs (Record of Rights). When the complainant expressed his inability to pay, the amount was reduced to Rs. 15,000. Sri Panda reportedly threatened to not allow the conversion otherwise.
Left with no other choice, the complainant approached the Vigilance authorities. A trap was laid, and Sri Panda was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe amount of Rs. 15,000 through his driver, Sri P. Praveen Kumar. The entire tainted bribe money was recovered and seized from the two accused persons.
Following the trap, simultaneous searches were initiated by Odisha Vigilance at three locations associated with Sri Panda to investigate from a disproportionate assets (DA) angle. During these ongoing searches, a cash amount of Rs. 4.73 Lakhs was unearthed from his residential house on May-Fair Road in Bhubaneswar and seized.
A case has been registered in this connection at the Sambalpur Vigilance P.S. (Case No. 17 dt. 11.09.2025) under Section 7 of the P.C. (Amendment) Act, 2018. Investigation is currently in progress against both the Tahasildar and his driver.