BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Staff Selection Commission (OSSC) official Biranchi Narayan Sahoo, who has landed in the Vigilance dragnet for allegedly amassing disproportionate assets amounting to a whopping Rs 3.51 crore, had made five foreign trips along with his wife Sudhanshubala in the last 10 years.
Similarly, Sudhanshubala, an insurance agent, made 10 foreign visits during the same period including the five with Biranchi. He is the private secretary to OSSC member Jagannath Lenka.
The couple visited countries like United Arab Emirates (UAE), Malaysia, Thailand, among others, and their son and daughter accompanied them on one such trip, the anti-corruption officials said. Biranchi's involvement in the alleged ‘money for job’ scam is under investigation.
Investigators suspect that the officer might have received kickbacks from applicants by abusing his official position as some admit cards were recovered from his house and mobile phone. He has been working with the Commission since its inception in 1994.
Sudhanshubala and Biranchi’s brother-in-law Manoranjan Sahoo are also under the Vigilance scanner. "Many properties have been registered in the name of Sudhanshubala and Rs 13 lakh was recovered from Manoranjan’s house. The two have been named in the FIR," said a senior officer.
Insurance deposits worth Rs 56 lakh was found from Biranchi's house. Vigilance officers are looking into the couple’s yearly insurance deposits as part of their investigation.
They are also probing the money spent towards education of their son who has completed maritime engineering at a private college in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida. On allegations of corruption against Biranchi, the sleuths conducted searches at his property in six places in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack on Friday.