BHUBANESWAR: Vigilance officers on Monday seized 1,440 grams of gold and a Sabyasachi necklace worth Rs 24.25 lakh from expelled Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy's house.
The anti-corruption agency's officers said steps are being taken for the attachment of the gold, designer necklace, and freezing of bank accounts of the legislator and his family members.
During the searches, Vigilance officers recovered incriminating documents and they will be examined by the financial wing of the agency, chartered accountants and banking consultants.
"The cyber cell of Vigilance will examine all electronic evidence/documents recovered during the searches. Examination of witnesses, suspects and accused will be carried out in the coming days. Further investigation is continuing," said an officer.
On the direction of the Lokayukta, the Vigilance Cell in Cuttack registered a case against Panigrahy on October 4 for allegedly amassing disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs 5.5 crore.
The anti-corruption agency launched simultaneous searches at 15 places in Bhubaneswar and Ganjam district on October 17 in connection with the case.
A Vigilance officer said searches are being carried out at the properties of Panigrahy, his relatives and associates.
The searches are led by Vigilance Cell SP, two Additional SPs and 17 DSPs. So far, the officers have seized incriminating documents relating to purchase of land, jewellery, bank passbooks, credit/debit cards, laptops, mobile phones and other articles.