BHUBANESWAR : Ashwini Kumar Das was once a vegetable seller. Now he is described as a ‘crorepati’ Block Development Officer (BDO). Not in a good way, to be precise.
Das, who was posted in Jaleswar, was arrested by Vigilance on Sunday for allegedly possessing disproportionate assets to the tune of `5 crore which is 450 per cent of unknown sources of his income. The anti-corruption agency said he was unable to give a satisfactory response about his movable and immovable assets.
During the investigation, Vigilance officers found out that Das’ father worked in the Agriculture Department. “When his father was unwell, the family went through a very tough phase.
Das sold vegetables for livelihood before he joined as a junior assistant in Agriculture Department in 1995 after his father’s demise,” said a senior Vigilance officer.
The bad phase was on its way out. He joined Odisha Revenue Service in 2015 and was posted as Additional Tehsildar at Kutra in Sundargarh.
He was then appointed as Additional Tehsildar in Niali, Sub-Registrar in Jagatsinghpur district’s Raghunathpur, Dolipur in Jajpur district and in Jatni.