BHUBANESWAR: Suspended IAS officer Bijay Ketan Upadhyaya, arrested on charges of demanding bribe, was produced before the Court of Special Judge, Vigilance here on Tuesday. Vigilance has secured his custody till January 5.The anti-corruption officials have also taken relationship manager of a private bank Santosh Kumar Pattanayak on five-day remand for interrogation. He was arrested for allegedly accepting bribe of Rs 1 lakh on behalf of Upadhyaya.
During search Vigilance officials seized Rs 11.78 lakh cash from the houses of Upadhyaya and Pattanayak. A mobile phone, laptop, pen-drive, hard disc and a diary have also been seized from their possessions.“During investigation we found that Directorate of Horticulture has four accounts in the private bank, one of which relates to micro-irrigation.
Cyber and cell phone forensics experts of State Forensic Science Laboratory have been examining the seized devices. Prima-facie evidence was established against Upadhyaya and Pattanayak,” a Vigilance official said.Meanwhile, Upadhyaya pleaded innocence and claimed that he has been framed by some of his staff and senior officials. “I have not received money from anybody,” Upadhyaya said.