NGO chief arrested for bribing CM's Principal Secretary

Bhubaneswar, Aug 10 (UNI) An NGO chief landed himself behind the bar for offering bribe to the Principal Secretary of Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inside the state secretariat here.

Police said one Dipti Prakash Patra, Secretary of AHEAD, an NGO sought an appointment with Chief Minister's Principal Secretary Bijaya Kumar Pattnaik this afternoon.

Patra met Mr Pattnaik in his chamber and requested him to recommend his application for establishing a professional college.

While he was leaving the Principal Secretary's room, he offered an envelope to Mr Pattnaik and kept it on the table. Aggrieved at the action of Patra, the Principal Secretary called his staff, who caught hold of Patra and handed him over to the secretariat security staff.

Patra was then taken to the Capital Hospital by the police and arrested under section 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act after Mr Pattnaik's Secretary R N Panda filed an FIR in connection with the incident.

Police also seized the envelope, which contained Rs 30,000 in cash. Patra would be produced in the court tomorrow.

UNI