BHUBANESWAR: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday provisionally attached land and buildings worth Rs 1.83 crore of former government engineer Rabindra Nath Pradhan. The central agency had earlier booked him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
In October 2020, the state vigilance had arrested Pradhan, who was then working as an assistant executive engineer with the General Public Health Division-II in Bhubaneswar, for allegedly possessing disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs 5.21 crore.
Subsequently, ED had registered a case against Pradhan and launched an investigation into the matter. The central agency sources said the investigation revealed Pradhan and his family members had amassed huge wealth through illegal means.
During the raids, Vigilance had traced 48 one-bedroom flats constructed by a firm in which the former engineer’s son was a director. The 48 flats in Balipatna area had a market value of Rs 4 crore. Pradhan and his family members were also found in possession of two double-storey buildings in Bhubaneswar worth Rs 93.38 lakh, eight plots in capital city, Polasara and Buguda valued at Rs 43.32 lakh, bank deposits to the tune of Rs 72.82 lakh, among others.
ED sources said similar proceedings were initiated against other government officials. The central agency attached assets worth Rs 2.84 crore of former senior environmental scientist of State Pollution Control Board Bishikeshan Nayak on March 24.