The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a Manager (Mines) and an Assistant Revenue Inspector of the Mahanadi Coalfield Limited (MCL) for allegedly demanding and receiving a bribe from a person to release compensation for land acquisition.
The accused have been identified as Manager (Mines) Rabindra Kumar Padhi and Assistant Revenue Inspector Loknath Naik. They are posted in the Hingula area of Talcher in Odisha.
The complainant approached the CBI after the accused MCL officials demanded ₹1 lakh from him to release the sanctioned compensation amount of ₹5.78 lakh, for the acquisition of his father’s land. The amount had been sanctioned on July 3, 2019, for payment. However, the accused had not cleared the file.
“In this regard, I have made several visits to the Land and Revenue Section of MCL, Hingula area, for early payment of the compensation amount. But the officers of MCL did not take any step for the payment of the said compensation amount,” the complainant said, adding that he later got a call from Mr. Naik demanding ₹1 lakh in bribe for the job.
Subsequently, the complainant was told to pay ₹70,000 as the first instalment and the rest of the money after the release of the compensation. Following negotiations, the first instalment was reduced to ₹20,000. The agency officials laid a trap and arrested the accused while accepting the money.
