Bhubaneswar, January 4: Vigilance sleuths on Sunday arrested Bijay Kumar Barik, Inspector in-charge (IIC) of CRRI police station in Cuttack, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 40,000 from a licenced liquor trader to allow him to operate his business without interference. He was caught red-handed at Raj Mahal Square here while receiving the bribe amount early in the morning.
“A trap was laid on 04.01.2026, wherein the accused IIC was nabbed by the team of Odisha Vigilance at Rajmahal chhak, Bhubaneswar for demanding and taking undue advantage (bribe) of Rs 40,000 from a licensed Liquor Vendor. The entire bribe money was recovered and seized from the possession of Barik in presence of witnesses. Both hands wash as well as pant pocket wash of Barik gave positive chemical reaction, confirming acceptance and handling of bribe money by him,” said a Vigilance communique.
Following the trap, simultaneous searches have been conducted on the residential Government quarters of Barik at Unit-1, Bhubaneswar, office chamber, three-storeyed building at Sisupalgarh in Bhubaneswar and parental house in Derabish in Kendrapara district.
Searches at his Government quarters in Bhubaneswar led to the recovery of Rs 4,96,120 in unaccounted cash. He failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for its source.
Investigators also seized 10 costly watches, gold and silver jewellery from his residence.
The anti-graft wing launched a probe to determine if the police officer possessed disproportionate assets.
Vigilance department has now verifying his bank accounts, investments, and those of his family members and relatives.
Barik, 43, joined Odisha police as a Sub-Inspector on September 21, 2012, and served in Boudh district for several years before being promoted to Inspector in November 2021. He was posted as an SI at Nayapalli police station (March 2019 to November 2021), Additional IIC at Saheed Nagar police station (November 2021 to August 2022), IIC of Info Valley police station (September 2022 to February 2024), and IIC at Cuttack’s CRRI police station since February 2024.
