Odisha Vigilance has arrested Aswini Kumar Panda, a state civil service exam topper serving as the Tehsildar of Bamra in Sambalpur district, for allegedly taking a bribe of ₹15,000.

According to Vigilance authorities, Panda demanded the bribe from a complainant seeking conversion of agricultural land into homestead land. The complainant had applied for the conversion a month ago but was allegedly told by Panda that the process would only proceed after a bribe.

Initially demanding ₹20,000, Panda reportedly reduced the amount to ₹15,000 after the complainant said he could not pay the higher sum.

Acting on the complaint, Vigilance officials laid a trap and caught Panda in the act, allegedly receiving the bribe through his driver. The full amount was recovered at the time of arrest.

Simultaneous searches were conducted at Panda’s Bhubaneswar residence, where his family resides, and at his PWD IB accommodation. Investigators seized cash worth ₹4,73,000 from his home. Panda’s driver, P. Praveen Kumar, was also arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The probe is ongoing.

Panda, 32, a B.Tech in mechanical engineering, topped the Odisha Civil Services Examination in 2019 and entered government service as a Training Reserve Officer (TRO) in December 2021. Before his current posting in Bamra, he served as Tehsildar in Shamakhunta, Mayurbhanj district.

The case has sent shockwaves through the state bureaucracy, highlighting ongoing challenges in curbing corruption even among top-ranking officers.