Bhubaneswar, Aug 24 (IANS) The Odisha Vigilance on Monday conducted simultaneous house searches at six locations linked to a revenue department official over allegations of accumulating assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The raids follow the recent arrest of the accused official, Bhanja Kishore Behera, former Senior Revenue Assistant (SRA) of Tirtol Block in Jagatsinghpur district, for allegedly misappropriating over Rs 3 crore in government funds.
Behera, presently posted as SRA at Naugaon Tahasil of Jagatsinghpur district, was arrested by the Vigilance Department on August 12 in connection with the alleged misappropriation of Rs 3,02,95,000.
“During an extensive investigation spanning financial years 2011-12 through 2021-22, Odisha Vigilance uncovered a systematically executed financial fraud centred at the Tirtol Block office by Bhanja Kishore Behera, Ex-SRA, the main accused. Sri Behera was also found to have misappropriated by fabrication and tampering of government salary registers and disbursal documents,” Odisha Vigilance informed.
The vigilance sources added that during further interrogation, accused Behera admitted having acquired assets, including a palatial building of 7,000 sqft, a tent house, and other valuables, with misappropriated amount around Rs 2 crore.
Acting on the information elicited during the interrogation, the Odisha Vigilance on Monday initiated searches at six locations associated with Behera on the alleged possession of disproportionate assets (DA).
The searches were conducted at his residential buildings and tent house at Patenigaon, his present office at Naugaon Tahasil, his previous place of posting at Tirtol Block office, and the house of a relative at Sanakorkora village under Raghunathpur police station area in Jagatsinghpur district.
During the searches, Vigilance officials have so far unearthed a triple-storeyed building measuring around 7,750 sq ft, a double-storeyed building and a tent house measuring around 8,400 sq ft at Patenigaon. Assets and articles worth Rs 30.44 lakh, purchased in 2019 for running the tent house, were also found. The searches also led to the detection of 210 grams of gold jewellery and a Mahindra pick-up van.
The Vigilance Technical Wing is conducting the measurement and valuation of the buildings and tent house. Bank and postal deposits and other investments of Behera and his family members are also being ascertained.
–IANS
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