Kendrapada: Vigilance officials arrested Sanjay Kumar Hansdah, assistant drugs controller in Jajpur on Thursday for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 6,000. Hansdah, who has additional charge of Jagatsinghpur district, allegedly accepted the bribe in return for recommending the complainant’s application to the office of the drug controller, Bhubaneswar, for issuance of a wholesale medicine licence.The complainant had applied on May 11, 2025, for a licence for his wholesale medicine store. He allegedly met Hansdah several times regarding the application, but the officer demanded Rs 6,000 for processing and recommending it. Unable to meet the demand, the complainant approached the vigilance.On Thursday, the complainant visited Hansdah’s office but found him absent. After contacting him over phone, Hansdah allegedly asked him to come to Jaipur chowk on Paradip-Cuttack NH-53. There, the complainant was allegedly asked to sit inside Hansdah’s vehicle, where the officer accepted the bribe. The vigilance team recovered it and arrested Hansdah. Simultaneous searches were launched at his office and residence in a disproportionate-assets case.
