Cuttack: Odisha Vigilance led by Director Yeswant K Jethwa scripting huge success in nabbing corrupt officials. Team Vigilance today uncovered assets worth crores of rupees owned by a high-ranking engineer, including 85 plots, a gold biscuit, and other valuables.
The case marks the third instance in a series involving senior officials with substantial landholdings. In the past week, the anti-corruption wing had detected 52 plots owned by an excise department official and 34 plots held by another senior engineer and his family.
In a press statement, the Vigilance Department said their sleuths uncovered a market complex, a five-storey building, and 85 plots — including one in West Bengal — along with 218 grams of gold, including a gold biscuit, and cash amounting to Rs 11.7 lakh in the possession of Pravas Kumar Pradhan, chief construction engineer of Anandpur Barrage Division in Salapada, Keonjhar.
“The plots were purchased by Shri Pradhan in different years in his name as well as in names of his family members. The total registered sale deed value comes to over Rs 2 crore. However, the actual value is likely to be higher, which is being verified,” the statement added.
This apart, officials said bank, postal, insurance and other deposits are also being ascertained and searches were continuing.
Earlier this week, Rama Chandra Mishra, joint commissioner of excise, was arrested on charges of amassing assets disproportionate to known source of income. He was found in possession of 52 plots apart from six multi-storey buildings and two apartments.
In another incident, the vigilance had detected 34 plots of land including one at Mathura in Uttar Pradesh and one farmhouse spread over eight acres in possession of one Sunil Kumar Rout, chief construction engineer of Lower Suktel Project, Bolangir.
Meanwhile, the Vigilance has arrested lady OAS Officer and BDO Golamunda block in Kalahandi district, Akhyamita Kartik, after catching her red-handed with bribe money.
Yesterday, the team of Vigilance intercepted her near Jaring in between Bhawanipatna-Junagarh while she was proceeding to Koraput via Bhawanipatna-JunagarhNabarangpur in her office vehicle.
The lady BDO had cleverly concealed the cash inside the rear door of her official vehicle to evade detection while traveling from Bhawanipatna to Koraput.
However, based on their training and protocols of conduct of searches, the Vigilance team managed to unearth the cash of Rs.4.92 lakh by opening the interior of the rear door of the vehicle. Vigilance sources said the entire cash was seized and she could not account for it satisfactorily.
Soon after the interception, simultaneous searches were launched on her two locations at Koraput and Kalahandi from DA angle. She is being examined to ascertain the source of funds, the Vigilance sources said.
Earlier, while posted as BDO Kosagumuda Block, Nabarangpur, she was suspended by the Panchayati Raj Department in the year 2022 for misappropriation of Covid funds. The Rayagada district administration had filed a police complaint against her for misappropriation of Red Cross funds while she was posted as Tahsildar Gunupur.