Vigilance Unearths Crores Worth Assets Linked to Kantapara Tahasildar

Bhubaneswar: Assets worth crores of rupees, including two multi-storeyed buildings and several high-value plots in the state capital, were unearthed during simultaneous raids conducted by Odisha Vigilance at multiple locations linked to Prasanna Samantaray, Tahasildar of Kantapara, on Wednesday. The searches were carried out in connection with allegations that he possessed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

According to a Vigilance press release, simultaneous house searches were conducted at seven locations across Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Puri and Kendrapara districts on the basis of search warrants issued by the court of the Special Judge, Vigilance, Cuttack. During the ongoing raids, officials detected several movable and immovable assets in the name of Samantaray and his family members.

Among the major assets unearthed so far are a triple-storeyed residential building measuring around 4,200 square feet at Kesura in Bhubaneswar and another triple-storeyed building under construction with an area of approximately 6,750 square feet at the same location. Vigilance officials also detected seven high-value plots in Bhubaneswar.

In addition, cash amounting to ₹2.15 lakh, a four-wheeler (Maruti Brezza), three two-wheelers and household articles worth around ₹8 lakh were recovered during the searches. Officials said details of bank deposits and other investments are currently being verified.

The measurement and valuation of the buildings and plots are being carried out by the Vigilance Technical Wing, and the total value of the assets is likely to increase as the investigation progresses. Samantaray is being examined by Vigilance officials to ascertain the sources of the assets, while further searches are continuing.

The raids were conducted at Samantaray’s residential building at Kesura in Bhubaneswar, his paternal house at Duchhia village under Gadisagada police station in Puri district, the house of a relative at Laxmisagar in Bhubaneswar, another relative’s house at Badapaldia in Kendrapara district, his office chamber at the Kantapara Tahasildar office and his government residential quarters at Kantapara.

The operation was carried out by seven teams of Vigilance officers comprising two Additional Superintendents of Police, eight Deputy Superintendents of Police, eleven Inspectors, five Assistant Sub-Inspectors and other supporting staff.

According to official records, Samantaray joined government service as a Local Fund Auditor on January 21, 2000, and served in the audit office at Balasore until June 2016. He was later promoted to the rank of ORS and posted as Zone Officer in the Salandi Lift Canal Project at Soro. Between 2017 and 2022, he served as Additional Tahasildar at Satyabadi in Puri district and Tangi-Choudwar in Cuttack district. In October 2022, he was promoted to the Odisha Administrative Service and posted as Tahasildar of Remuna in Balasore before being transferred to the Kantapara Tahasildar office in September 2025.

Officials said the enquiry is ongoing and more assets may be detected as the investigation progresses.