Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance officials Friday raided the office, residence and properties linked to Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) officer Prasanta Kumar Rout on allegations of possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Currently, Prasanta is posted as the Additional Sub Collector of Nabarangpur district.
According to vigilance Superintendent of Police (SP) M Radhakrishna, more than Rs 2.25 crores in cash, stashed in as many as six cartons, were seized from Prashant’s neighbour’s house during the raid at Kanan Vihar in Bhubaneswar. Another Rs 77 lakh were recovered from his Nabarangpur residence, he said.
However, the actual cash amount is yet to be ascertained, he added.
The Vigilance team comprising two Additional SPs, seven DSPs, eight Inspectors, and other personnel are conducting simultaneous raids at various locations in Bhubaneswar, Nabarangpur, and Bhadrak, informed Radhakrishna.
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A source in Vigilance said that the team is also raiding the homes of his relatives and cousins.
Several critical documents, bank passbooks, and ATM cards were taken from the possession of Prasanta. The overall valuation of his movable and immovable properties is yet to be ascertained as searches are still underway, the source added.
It can be mentioned here that Prasanta was arrested by the Vigilance officials in 2018 for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from a panchayat executive officer (PEO). At that time he was the BDO of a block in Sundargarh district.
PNN & Agencies