Vigilance officials allegedly seized ₹1.39 crore in cash from engineer in Odisha

|HT|

Odisha vigilance officials on Monday allegedly seized ₹1.39 crore in cash from an engineer posted in the state’s rural development department in Malkangiri, counted among Odisha’s most backward districts, people familiar with the matter said. Director of vigilance, Yashwant Jethwa said officials found ₹1.39 crore in ₹500 and ₹2,000 currency notes, gold jewellery, coins and biscuits weighing 1.2kilogram, and bank and insurance deposits of over ₹4 crore from the residence of superintending engineer Ashis Kumar Das. The currency notes were stacked in almirahs in his apartment in Trisulia, Cuttack.

“So far, we have managed to find 12 bank accounts in the name of his family members, relatives and associates. In Axis Bank alone, he has ₹2.25 crore deposits. We suspect there are more accounts where he has kept his ill-gotten money,” said the vigilance director. Officials said they are yet to scrutinise Ashis Kumar Das’s two bank accounts in Keonjhar and Gunupur districts. Vigilance officials said Das was suspected of corruption for some time. The decision to raid him came after he recently took an autorickshaw to a bank. “An officer who has access to government vehicles riding an autorickshaw to deposit money in a bank raised suspicions…. This led to our raid on his premises,” one of them said, adding that inquiries revealed that he deposited ₹10 lakh cash in his account on the day he took the rickshaw.

Das joined government service in 1994.

Officials said they may arrest him on Tuesday once the sleuths complete the assessment of his assets.

The seizure of ₹1.39 crore cash has been described as a record for the state by vigilance officials. Vigilance officials in Odisha have seized cash over ₹1 crore on two occasions.

Last month, Sukant Jena, a gynaecologist posted in a Community Health Centre in Nimapara in Puri district, had the dubious distinction of possessing ₹1.12 crore in cash at his home when he was raided. Jena was arrested by vigilance while taking a bribe of ₹8000 from his cousin for doing a caesarian operation.

In February 2016, more than ₹1 crore in cash was seized from Athagarh divisional forest officer Sudhansu Mishra.

This year, Odisha vigilance registered 62 cases in which 43 officials have been arrested for corrupt practices. Of these, 14 are Class 1 officers.

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