Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police has dismissed Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Rajesh Kullu from service, just a day after his arrest by the Vigilance department on bribery charges.
Kullu, who was posted at Mancheswar Police Station, was allegedly caught accepting a bribe of Rs 20,000 from a complainant in exchange for releasing two seized mobile phones and assisting in a criminal case under his investigation. Vigilance officials also alleged that he had previously collected Rs 80,000 from the same individual.
In a related action, two home guards, Jyotiranjan Behera and Abdul Sarfaraj Khan, have been issued one-month termination notices by the Home Guards organisation for their alleged involvement in the incident.
The Commissionerate Police reiterated its strict stance against corruption, emphasizing a zero-tolerance policy toward any form of misconduct within the force.
Meanwhile, Vigilance officials also arrested forester Rakesh Kumar Panda of Delanga forest range while he was allegedly accepting a Rs 25,000 bribe. He had reportedly demanded the money to allow a tractor carrying soil to pass through a forest road. During searches, officials recovered Rs 1.41 lakh in suspected unaccounted cash from his residence. Investigations in both cases are ongoing.