BHUBANESWAR: Vigilance officials on Monday seized 1,440 gram gold and a necklace of brand ‘Sabyasachi’ worth Rs 24.25 lakh from the residence of expelled BJD leader and Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy. The anti-corruption agency’s officials said steps are being taken to attach the gold, the designer necklace and freezing of bank accounts of the legislator and his family members. During searches, they also recovered documents which will be examined by the financial wing of the agency, chartered accountants and banking consultants.“The cyber cell of Vigilance will examine all electronic evidence/documents recovered during the searches. Examination of witnesses, suspects and the accused will be carried out in the coming days. Further investigation is continuing,” said an officer.
On the direction of Lokayukta, Vigilance cell in Cuttack had registered a case against Panigrahy on October 4 this year for allegedly amassing disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs 5.5 crore. The anti-corruption agency had launched simultaneous searches at 15 places in Bhubaneswar and Ganjam on Sunday. A Vigilance official said searches are also being carried out on the property of Panigrahy’s relatives and associates. The searches are led by Vigilance Cell SP, two Additional SPs, 17 DSPs.