Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance today arrested a Senior Assistant of the Odisha Pharmacy Council and a private individual for taking a bribe of Rs 9,000 to process a pharmacy registration certificate.
Accused Biswamohan Pattnaik alias Raja, Senior Assistant, Odisha Pharmacy Council, was caught along with his associate Md. Izaz Khan alias Prusty while accepting the bribe from an applicant. Pattnaik had allegedly demanded the money to verify documents for grant of the Pharmacy Registration Certificate.
According to Vigilance, the applicant had been pursuing Pattnaik for about a week for the certificate. Pattnaik demanded Rs 9,000 to “do the needful.
“Today, when the applicant met Pattnaik in front of the Pharmacy Council office in Bhubaneswar, the accused repeated the demand and directed the applicant to hand over the money to his associate Khan. The complainant then alerted Vigilance authorities.
A Vigilance team laid a trap and nabbed both accused while accepting the bribe. The entire tainted amount of Rs 9,000 was seized.
Following the trap, simultaneous searches are underway at two locations linked to Pattnaik from a Disproportionate Assets angle.
Bhubaneswar Vigilance P.S. registered a ase under Section 7 of the PC (Amendment) Act, 2018. Investigation is in progress against both accused.