The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested an Income Tax Department officer in Odisha for allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹4,000 in a corruption case linked to the deletion of a duplicate PAN card record. The accused, identified as Ramesh Kumar Mohanty, was serving as a superintendent at the income tax office in the Bhadrak district at the time of his arrest, officials said.

According to officials, Mohanty had allegedly demanded ₹5,000 from an individual in exchange for removing a duplicate Permanent Account Number (PAN) entry from official records. The complainant, instead of complying with the demand, approached the CBI and reported the matter, triggering a formal investigation into the allegations of bribery and abuse of official position.

Following the complaint, the CBI laid a trap to verify the allegations and monitor the accused officer’s actions. Officials said the agency coordinated a controlled operation to catch Mohanty during the alleged exchange of money, ensuring evidence collection at the time of the transaction.

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The accused officer was reportedly apprehended red-handed while accepting ₹4,000 from the complainant, according to the CBI. The arrest was made on the basis of the trap operation, which confirmed the allegations of demand and acceptance of illegal gratification in return for an official favor.

A case has since been registered against Ramesh Kumar Mohanty under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Officials confirmed that further investigation is underway to determine whether the accused was involved in similar instances of misconduct or whether others within the department were connected to the alleged corruption network.

The CBI action highlights continued efforts by central agencies to crack down on corruption within government departments, particularly in cases involving manipulation of sensitive financial identification records such as PAN databases. Authorities said further legal proceedings will follow as the investigation progresses.

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