BHUBANESWAR: A junior engineer posted at the office of district project coordinator, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in Bhawanipatna and his wife were were arrested and produced before a court here on Friday for possessing disproportionate assets worth Rs 4.09 crore.
Acting on a tip-off, the officers conducted simultaneous searches at junior engineer, Avaya Kumar Pati’s property including a double-storey building in the Capital, a rented accommodation occupied by his business partner in Capital, his house in Rahani village and a relative’s house in Bhuban of Dhenkanal district on Wednesday.
The anti-corruption agency’s sleuths also conducted searches at Pati’s office and rented accommodation in Bhawanipatna, office of Padma Infrastructure in Cuttack and at a double-storey building in Jubilee town, Dhenkanal district the same day.
Pati, his family members and business partner were found in possession of two double-storey buildings in Capital and Dhenkanal worth over RS 81.67 lakh, two flats in Puri and Cuttack worth RS 28.92 lakh, 12 plots in City, Puri, Cuttack, Dhenkanal and Jajpur worth RS 21.39 lakh, among others.
Pati entered real estate business to evade tax and floated a firm Padma Infrastructure with his wife as one of the partners. One of the partners purchased 77 plots worth over RS 3.23 crore in the firm’s name in Dhenkanal and Cuttack districts and filed tax returns of Padma by submitting fabricated and manipulated information.
A Vigilance officer said Pati deposited more than RS 50 lakh in different banks and purchased four plots in the name of his in-laws who failed to explain the source of money. The couple was remanded to judicial custody.