Odisha: Police face the music after allegedly demanding, accepting bribe from locals

Pattamundai: Incensed locals today snatched away the motorcycle key of a policeman for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe at Nuakot village under Pattamundai block in Kendrapara district. The cop had gone to the village to serve notices to some of the residents.

According to sources, some members of Naba Nirman Krushak Sangathan (NNKS) from Pattamundai had gheraoed Odisha Assembly in Bhubaneswar on August 22 over a charter of demands along with several others from across the State. Later, they were arrested by the Commissionerate Police and cases were registered against them under Section 107 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Accordingly, summon notices were served by Capital PS on 32 residents of Nuakot village through the local police station. For which, two policemen had gone to the village in the morning.

A cop named Rajkishore Barik of the Rural police station in Pattamundai demanded and accepted the bribe from the accused persons. “As they are moving from one place to another, the policemen require some ‘Kharcha Paani’,” the locals alleged.

Barik previously collected between Rs 100 to Rs 300 from the accused persons. Even to the extent, he has admitted to this and returned the money to a few persons, a villager Udayabhanu Sahoo and the district coordinator of NNKS Dolagobinda Sahoo expressed.

“Barik had taken Rs 100 as a bribe from Sunakar Das of Nilakanthapur, which he has returned after locals reacted to it. However, the bribe money taken from Abhiram Mallik has not yet been returned. We strongly resent the immoral practice of policemen. If actions will not be taken against the wrongdoer, we will gherao the police station here in the days ahead,” Dolagobinda warned.

Irked with this, the villagers snatched away the motorcycle key and indulged in an altercation with the cop, a video of which has gone viral on different social media platforms.

When contacted, Rural PS Inspector-in-Charge (IIC) Bamadev Nanda said, “Yes, I have heard about the viral video and looking into it as to what has happened.”