5 buildings, 14 plots, Rs 2 Cr cash seized from bank account: Crorepati Govt engineer arrested
Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance on Saturday conducted simultaneous searches on several properties of Baikuntha Nath Behera, Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE), ITDA, Baliguda, Kandhamal. During the raid, the Vigilance has found 5 buildings, 14 plots, Rs 2 Cr cash from the government engineer’s bank account, leaving the state people shocked over the long list of alleged disproportionate assets.
The searches conducted in Bhubaneswar, Baripada, Dharmasala (Jajpur), and Baliguda, revealed an astonishing collection of properties and wealth in the name of Behera and his family members. Among the immovable assets recovered are five multi-storey buildings, including four palatial structures in Bhubaneswar:
- A four-storeyed building of 10,500 sqft at Niladri Vihar, Chandrasekharpur.
- A triple-storeyed building of 1,100 sqft at Sailshree Vihar, Bhubaneswar.
- A double-storeyed building of 3,750 sqft at Kanan Vihar, Patia.
- Another double-storeyed building of 2,500 sqft at Chandrasekharpur.
- A double-storeyed building on paternal land at Pandua, Dharmasala, Jajpur.
Moreover, he also found to have 14 high-value plots including 8 prime plots in Bhubaneswar, 5 in Dharmasala, and 1 in Baripada.
The searches were carried out by nine Vigilance teams led by two Additional SPs, five DSPs, six Inspectors, and supporting staff, under warrants issued by the Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar. The raid was conducted on allegations of possession of disproportionate assets.
Behera, whose government service spans over 27 years, was being examined to ascertain the source of the assets. The Assistant Executive Engineer has been arrested for possession of disproportionate assets.
