Two excise officials were arrested in Odisha’s Keonjhar district Wednesday for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 40,000 from a licenced liquor vendor, a statement said.

The arrested officials were identified as Excise Superintendent Sitarani Pattayat and Champua excise station’s officer-in-charge Bijay Kumar Mohanta, it said.

Since taking charge as the excise superintendent four months ago, Pattayat was allegedly demanding a bribe from the vendor as regular payment to allow smooth functioning of his business, the statement said.

The vendor reported the matter to the Vigilance Department, which nabbed Pattayat along with her colleague Mohanta.

Mohanta took the cash from the vendor on behalf of Pattayat, the statement said.

A case has been registered at the Balasore vigilance police statio

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