BHUBANESWAR: Former BJD MLA Anam Naik, who was under the Vigilance radar, was on Thursday arrested by the anti-corruption sleuths for amassing disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs 1.54 crore.
The arrest comes following simultaneous searches at Naik’s three-storey building and a commercial building at Naktiguda under Bhawanipatna Town police limits, his duplex lodge and market complex in Madanpur-Rampur town and an under-construction building in Purunapada in Kalahandi district on January 17.
"Anam Naik was found in possession of disproportionate assets, which he could not account for satisfactorily, and a case was registered in this regard. Koraput Vigilance Division arrested him on Thursday and produced him before a court in Bhawanipatna," a Vigilance officer said. The Special Judge rejected his bail petition and remanded him in judicial custody till February 5.
Naik had joined Government service as junior clerk and was posted at the Revenue Department in January, 1985. He worked in different offices in Kalahandi district till March 30, 2004. Naik then resigned from Government service and entered politics. He was the MLA of Bhawanipatna Assembly segment from 2014 to 2019. However, he was denied ticket in the last general elections.
Naik has maintained that he had provided the details of his property and income tax returns in his declaration form while filing nomination during 2014 Assembly elections. He asserted that besides income from his business, he has acquired ancestral property and claimed to be a victim of political and business rivalry.
