Odisha Vigilance Nabs Special Land Acquisition Officer in ₹5 Lakh Bribery Case

02 Nov 2026, 10:42 by Himanshu · KalingaTV

Sambalpur: Odisha Vigilance on Monday apprehended Ajay Kumar Garanaik, Special Land Acquisition Officer of the Sambalpur-Talcher Doubling Rail Line Project, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹5 lakh from a landowner to release compensation for land acquisition.

According to an official release issued by Odisha Vigilance on November 2, 2026, Garanaik had allegedly demanded ₹5.10 lakh from the complainant for facilitating the release of ₹84,62,288 towards land acquisition compensation and extending favours in future compensation proceedings related to the third railway line project.

The accused officer had reportedly received ₹2 lakh from the complainant on October 27, 2026, and subsequently demanded the remaining ₹3.10 lakh.

Garanaik allegedly threatened the landowner that he would create difficulties during future land acquisition proceedings for the third railway line project if the remaining bribe amount was not paid immediately.

Unable to bear the alleged harassment, the complainant approached Odisha Vigilance and reported the matter.

Acting on the complaint, a Vigilance team laid a trap and apprehended Garanaik on Monday while he was allegedly accepting the remaining bribe amount of ₹3.10 lakh from the complainant.

The entire tainted bribe amount of ₹3.10 lakh was recovered from the possession of the accused officer and seized by Vigilance officials.

Following the successful trap operation, Odisha Vigilance launched simultaneous searches at three locations linked to Garanaik to investigate possible possession of disproportionate assets (DA).

In this connection, Sambalpur Vigilance Police Station Case No. 20, dated November 1, 2026, has been registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.

Further investigation into the case is underway, and additional details are awaited.

Odisha Vigilance Nabs Special Land Acquisition Officer in ₹5 Lakh Bribery Case

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