Berhampur: Odisha vigilance officials Friday arrested the forester of Purushottampur beat house under Khallikote forest range in Ganjam district for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000.
Shiva Behera was arrested while taking the bribe from Pravakar Moharana, a carpenter and furniture trader of Arakhapur village near Purushottampur.
According to reports, Behera often used to demand money from Moharana by threatening to book the latter under Forest Conservation Act.
Fed up of Behera’s threat, Moharana approached the anti-corruption officials following which a probe was initiated against the forester.
The officials laid a trap Friday afternoon and asked Moharana to go to the beat house and give Rs 5,000 cash to the forester.
Moharana arrived at the beat house and Behera accepted the notes which were earlier dipped in fluorescent dyes.
The anti-graft officials who were hiding at the beat house caught the forester red-handed.
Raids were also conducted at his residential building at Nilanchal Nagar in Berhampur and official quarters at Purushottampur.
PNN