Bhubaneswar: Vigilance officials on Thursday arrested a forester in Puri district for allegedly accepting Rs 25,000 bribe from a man to allow passage through a restricted forest road in Delang range. The accused, identified as Rakesh Kumar Panda, was posted at Ankui under Delang forest range.According to vigilance officials, “The victim had approached the ranger seeking permission to take his tractor loaded with sand and soil through forest land. The forester demanded Rs 25,000 and threatened to seize the tractor unless the money was paid.”The tractor owner lodged a complaint last week, following which a trap was laid on Thursday afternoon. Panda was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe.Simultaneous searches were carried out at Panda’s govt quarter in Ankui and his parental house in Khurda. “During the house search in Khurda, Rs 1.41 lakh in cash was recovered and seized,” a vigilance official said.
