BHUBANESWAR/PHULBANI: State Vigilance on Saturday found over Rs 2 crore cash parked in the bank locker of an assistant executive engineer who was posted in Kandhamal district’s Baliguda.
During the raid at Baikuntha Nath Behera’s premises, the anti-corruption officials stumbled upon at least five multi-storey buildings possessed by the engineer in Bhubaneswar. The palatial buildings were built over a combined 17,000 sq ft area.
The raids were carried out across Bhubaneswar, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj and Kandhamal to ascertain Behera’s disproportionate assets. Currently posted at the Baliguda ITDA office, Behera had joined government service in August, 1999 as a junior engineer with an initial salary of ‘6,000.
During the searches, Behera and his family members were found in possession of a four-storey building spread over 10,500 sq ft in Niladri Vihar, a three-storey house (1,100 sq ft) in Sailashree Vihar, another two-storey house (3,750 sq ft) in Patia and a two-storey house (2,500 sq/ft) in Chandrasekharpur area of Bhubaneswar.
This apart, Behera was found to be owning a two-storey house (2,500 sq/ft) at Dharmasala in Jajpur, and 14 plots including eight in Bhubaneswar, five in Jajpur and one in Baripada.
The officials of the anti-corruption agency also traced gold ornaments weighing 341 gm and deposits to the tune of Rs 45 lakh. Over Rs 2 crore cash were also seized from the engineer’s bank lockers maintained in the capital and another Rs 2 lakh were recovered from his house in Patia.
A case under Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered and Behera detained for interrogation. Further investigation is underway.
