Govt engineer arrested for possessing disproportionate assets worth over Rs 5 crore

The anti-corruption vigilance sleuths arrested an assistant engineer of the Odisha Water Resources Department in connection with a disproportionate assets case, and seized Rs 2 crore cash, the highest in Odisha Vigilance since institution, and gold biscuits weighing around 580 gm among other valuables.

Bhubaneswar: The anti-corruption vigilance sleuths arrested an assistant engineer of the Odisha Water Resources Department for possessing disproportionate assets worth over Rs 5 crore, an officer said. The vigilance sleuths raided the house of Kartikeswar Raoul in Bhubaneswar following an allegation that he had accumulated assets disproportionate to his known sources of income, the officer said.

The sleuths seized over Rs 2 crore in cash, the highest cash seizure in the history of Odisha Vigilance, and 20 gold biscuits weighing around 580 gm among other valuables during the search in the house of Raoul, assistant engineer, minor irrigation division, Bhanjanagar in Ganjam district.

Raoul was arrested and forwarded to the Court of Special Judge Vigilance, Bhubaneswar on Friday on the charge of possessing disproportionate assets worth over Rs 5 crore. The court remanded him to jail custody till April 21. A case has been registered against Raoul and others under different sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

Vigilance SP Anupama James said: "Raoul was found in possession of disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs 5,00,82,794 (five crores eighty-two thousand seven hundred ninety-four) which constituted 741 per cent of his known sources of income. Disproportionate assets are likely to increase further".

Investigation of the case is in progress, he added. Raids were also conducted on other properties of Raoul at six places in Khurda and Ganjam districts. The Vigilance found two double-storey buildings, two-flats, 7 plots of land and deposits worth over Rs 37 lakh in the name of the assistant engineer.

Earlier on March 28, the Vigilance had made a seizure of over Rs 1.36 crore in cash from Ashish Kumar Dash, Superintending Engineer of Rural Development department in Malkangiri.

PTI