Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s anti-corruption vigilance team Friday 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.
The Vigilance Department in a statement 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 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.
PTI