BHAWANIPATNA: An executive engineer (EE) of the Roads and Building (R&B) division was found to have acquired 68 plots of land measuring a mindboggling 65 acre and two farmhouses spanning 17 acre when the Odisha Vigilance carried out a search on his premises on Tuesday.
Along with other high-value assets disproportionate to his known sources of income, the huge landholding of Bhubaneswar Sabar, the EE of Dharmagarh R&B sub-division, was unearthed by the multiple teams of the anti-corruption wing.
Sabar had joined government service in 1999 as a junior engineer and was posted at Sunabeda in Koraput with an initial salary Rs 6,000.
During the raids, Sabar was found in possession of two double-storey buildings, one at Gosanimunda in Bhawanipatana town and another at Kusumkhunti in Koksara. Vigilance officials also found a building at Dwarasuni, a market complex at Moter chowk in Koksara and two farmhouses at Kitpadar near Bhawanipatana town owned by the engineer.
Sabar was found possessing a total of 68 plots on the outskirts of Bhawanipatna, Koksara and Nabarangpur town. Besides, he owned Rs 10.72 lakh deposits, cash and household articles worth around Rs 19.78 lakh and a four-wheeler, said Vigilance.
Vigilance officials said simultaneous searches were conducted at six locations of Sabar, also the in-charge EE of Bhawanipatna R&B division, including his office and government quarters at PWD colony in Bhawanipatna besides a two-storey building at his native village Kusumkhunti in Kalahandi’s Koksara.
Six teams comprising DSPs, eight inspectors, and other supporting staff conducted the searches on the strength of search warrants issued by the Special Judge, Vigilance at Bhawanipatna.
In 2013, Sabar was promoted to the rank of AE and continued at Bhawanipatna. Subsequently, he was promoted to the rank of AEE and was posted to R&B sub-division, Dharmagarh from 2016 to 2024. Sabar was again promoted to the rank of executive engineer in March 2024. He is holding the additional charge of EE, Bhawanipatna R&B division from January 2025.