Bhubaneswar: In a dramatic anti-corruption operation, an Odisha vigilance constable jumped into a pond and swam after a police sub-inspector (SI) who allegedly attempted to escape moments after accepting a Rs 10,000 bribe in Sambalpur district on Wednesday evening.The accused, Sujit Kumar Mahanta (34), SI of Mahulpali police station, allegedly accepted the bribe from a suspect in exchange for showing leniency in a petty criminal case he was investigating. Acting on a complaint, vigilance officials laid a trap and caught him red-handed. “Mahanta had asked the suspect to meet him at a secluded location outside the police station. Soon after receiving the tainted money, he spotted our team and fled the scene,” a vigilance official said.After a cat-and-mouse chase lasting about 20 minutes and covering nearly 3 km, Mahanta allegedly jumped into a nearby pond in a desperate attempt to evade arrest. “A member of our team also jumped into the pond and swam after him. Following a brief chase in the water, the accused SI was overpowered and taken into custody. The entire bribe amount of Rs 10,000 was recovered from his possession,” the official said.Vigilance officials also launched simultaneous searches at premises linked to Mahanta to probe a possible disproportionate assets angle. “During the searches, an additional Rs 1,55,700 in cash was recovered from the accused officer’s rest room on the police station premises. He could not provide a satisfactory explanation for the legitimate source of the money,” the vigilance official said.