EOW inspector, constable held for taking bribe from Odisha journalist

CBI sources said a team from Delhi arrested EOW constable Amit Lahucha while he was accepting the bribe from Udaynath Sahu, a Bhubaneswar-based journalist, on Sunday.

Published on: Apr 25, 2022, 04:57:59 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty, Bhubaneswar

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday arrested a constable of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Delhi, in Bhubaneswar on the charges of taking ₹2 lakh bribe from a journalist based in Odisha, promising to remove his name as witness in a case of forgery.

CBI sources said a team from Delhi arrested EOW constable Amit Lahucha while he was accepting the bribe from Udaynath Sahu, a Bhubaneswar-based journalist, on Sunday. Hours later, Sajjan Singh Yadav, inspector of EOW in Delhi police, was arrested by the CBI in Delhi for masterminding the crime.

CBI officials said in 2016, Manoj Kumar Seth, a Bhubaneswar-based journalist, who edited newspapers, created a fake email ID using the identity of Yogi Adityanath, then Lok Sabha MP from Gorakhpur. He sought advertisements from public sector companies such as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Gas Authority of India Ltd and Power Grid Corporation of India Limited. A case of forgery was lodged against him with the EOW of Delhi police in 2016.

Following investigation, the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit of Delhi Police’s special cell arrested Seth from Bhubaneswar in January this year. After a chargesheet in the case was filed, Seth’s associate Sahu was listed as a witness in the case. Yadav, then the investigating officer of the case, allegedly threatened Sahu of implicating him as an accused in the supplementary chargesheet if he did not pay a bribe of ₹4.50 lakh, which was subsequently reduced to ₹4 lakh.

Sources in the CBI said Yadav told Sahu that Lahucha would collect the bribe of ₹2 lakh from him at Biju Patnaik airport in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More