BHUBANESWAR: After two days of raid and unearthing sensational details about IFS officer Abhay Kant Pathak and his son Akash, the Odisha Vigilance has started to look into the source of the duo’s opulence. A key area of probe is the alleged fake recruitment being made by Akash for Tata Motors in Ganjam’s Gopalpur area. The anti-corruption agency has come across ‘letter of intent’ issued purportedly by Tata Motors to candidates after interviews in April. A list of 68 candidates, who had appeared for interviews and cleared, is under scrutiny of both Vigilance as well as the Crime Branch.
Tata Motors had issued a clarification on Friday stating that Akash was not a bona fide employee of the company. After the company received an alert that ‘one Akash Kumar Pathak was impersonating as Managing Director (In Charge) of Passenger Vehicle division at Pune’, it had lodged a complaint with Crime Branch.
Vigilance sources confirmed the agency is also looking into this aspect while Crime Branch has already started its probe basing on Tata Motors’ complaint. “The root source of wealth and its investment are key areas of the probe. We are also looking at the recruitment angle to ascertain the truth,” said official sources.
Akash was slated to marry the daughter of a ruling party leader from Gopalpur next month. The anti-corruption wing had found a staggering Rs 9.4 crore cash deposits in Akash’s two bank accounts in Bhubaneswar of which Rs 8.4 crore was deposited in the Capital city itself. The Vigilance has also come across at least Rs 70 lakh in deposits made in Berhampur region. There are mentions of payments in WhatsApp chats too. The cash deposits as well as Abhay and his son’s splurge on charter flights, hotels, travels to
foreign locations apart, Akash was also paying huge sums on rents of flats, office and farmhouse, and salary for a set of employees in Pune. Investigation reveals that Akash graduated from a Bhubaneswar-based engineering college in 2017.
All his financial activities pertain mostly to last two years. “We are looking at all angles to find out how the two generated such a huge income and sustained the lifestyle,” said official sources. Interestingly, the father-son duo wanted to meet a senior officer at State Secretariat not very long ago and sought entry pass for their bouncers (private security) too, the request for which was declined.
To analyse the massive bank transactions, laptop and mobile data, Vigilance has pressed experts from its Finance Wing comprising retired bank officers and chartered accountants. Its forensic auditor is also working round the clock on the investigation. Meanwhile, on Saturday, the first meeting of the core team of the 20 member-Special Investigation Team formed to investigate the case was held.
It was decided that notices under Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code would be issued to people acquainted with facts and circumstances such as bank and Forest officials, relatives, employees and associates. Firms from which luxury vehicles were purchased will also be examined. Assistance of State Forensic Science Laboratory is being requisitioned.