A Panchayat Executive Officer (PEO) of Mirginendi gram panchayat under Karanjia Block in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district was apprehended by Odisha Vigilance on Tuesday while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 18,000 from a contractual staffer for processing pending remuneration dues.

The accused has been identified as Parsuram Naik, serving as PEO of Mirginendi Gram Panchayat under Karanjia Block.

According to sources, Naik had allegedly demanded the bribe from a contractual staff member of the same gram panchayat to process the file for release of arrear remuneration and facilitate regular payment of salary in future.

Reports said the staffer had not received his remuneration for the period from March 26, 2023 to April 3, 2025 despite orders issued by the Block Development Officer (BDO) directing release of the dues. The employee had reportedly approached the accused multiple times requesting clearance of his remuneration.

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However, Naik allegedly demanded Rs 18,000 as a bribe to process the payment and allegedly threatened not to release the dues if the amount was not paid.

Unable to bear the harassment and having no alternative, the staffer approached Odisha Vigilance authorities and lodged a complaint.

Acting on the complaint, a Vigilance team laid a trap and apprehended Naik while he was allegedly accepting the bribe amount. The entire sum of Rs 18,000 was recovered from his possession and seized.

Following the trap, simultaneous searches are being carried out at two locations linked to the accused to investigate disproportionate assets (DA) allegations.

In this connection, a case has been registered under Balasore Vigilance Police Station Case No. 7/2026 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Further investigation into the matter is underway.