Odisha Vigilance on Sunday arrested an engineer of the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) after unearthing assets allegedly disproportionate to his known sources of income, including Rs 2.04 crore in cash, officials said.
The accused, Baikuntha Nath Behera (52), Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) of the ITDA at Baliguda in Kandhamal district, was arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act and is being forwarded to the Court of the Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar.
Simultaneous searches conducted at properties linked to Behera revealed substantial movable and immovable assets that he could not satisfactorily account for.
The assets detected include Rs 2.04 crore in cash; five multi-storeyed buildings with a combined built-up area exceeding 20,000 sq ft; four palatial houses in Bhubaneswar; 14 high-value plots; around 500 grams of gold ornaments; and bank deposits amounting to about Rs 45 lakh.
Officials said a bank locker operated in the name of Behera’s spouse is yet to be opened, and its contents will be examined as part of the ongoing investigation.
Vigilance officials noted that Behera had joined government service nearly 27 years ago with a monthly salary of around Rs 6,000 and had spent most of his career in tribal-dominated areas of the state.
Following the detection of the alleged disproportionate assets, a case has been registered against him. Investigators are now examining the source of the assets and verifying whether any additional properties or investments are linked to the accused.
The Vigilance department said further investigation into the case is in progress.