Advocate attached to Odisha vigilance court held for graft

The Vigilance Directorate (VD) of Odisha on Saturday arrested a public prosecutor attached to a vigilance court for taking bribe from a police officer to settle a vigilance case registered against the latter.

The arrested person gas been identified as special public prosecutor Ashutosh Mishra, who was attached to the vigilance court of a special judge at Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district, the VD said in a statement.

Mishra was caught red-handed by a vigilance sleuth of Cuttack division while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from ASI Malay Kumar Rana, who is now under suspension.

The advocate had demanded the bribe to help Rana in a vigilance case against him, which is pending in the vigilance court in Bhawanipatna.

The vigilance officials seized the bribe money from the accused Mishra. Searches are being carried out at his house in Radhakrishna Nagar in Bhawanipatna. A case has been registered and further inquiry is on, vigilance officials said.