Bhubaneswar: The deputy manager of Odisha Police Housing and Welfare Corporation (OPHWC) Pratap Kumar Samal, who was arrested by Vigilance sleuths Wednesday over DA charges, had allegedly invested his ill-earned money in the production of two Odia movies.
“Samal, invested the black money acquired by him in two Odia movies,” an official said.
According to the source, the deputy manager’s spouse Sasmita Samal produced two movies and Samal was the associate producer in one of the movie. Based on a case registered by Odisha Vigilance under Sections 13(1)(B) and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, the husband and wife duo has now been arrested.
The Vigilance team had found Samal in possession of assets worth Rs 14.87 crore, 1021% more than his known sources of income.
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It is pertinent to mention here that following simultaneous searches carried out at places linked to Samal, which concluded Wednesday morning, Vigilance sleuths arrested the official and his wife as the couple was found in possession of properties worth crores.
Ten separate teams of the anti-corruption agency carried out searches on strength of a search warrant issued by the Court of Special Judge, Vigilance in Bhubaneswar, the senior official expressed.
25 immovable properties owned by the official and his wife Sasmita were detected, including 22 plots and three buildings out of which 17 plots and two buildings are in Bhubaneswar and Khurda.
Value of the immovable properties including registration and stamp duty is Rs 3,41,58,412, the market price of which would be higher. Moreover, value of a five-storey building located at Gothapatna is Rs 3,89,60,000, as per self-declaration made by Samal and his wife.
Valuation of other assets is being done by the Technical Wing of Vigilance. Bank deposit of Rs 1,61,35,812.50 in total was found in the accounts of Samal and his family members. Insurance premium of Rs 57,72,150 has also been paid by the family, the sources added.
“Bank accounts of Samal and his family members have been freezed and further investigation is underway. A few moments prior to the raid by Vigilance teams, Samal threw a bag containing unaccounted cash of around Rs 20 lakh to an abandoned building near his house. The Vigilance later seized the bag and cash. A team also seized Rs 38.12 lakh in cash from the house of Samal,” the senior sleuth stated.
The 10 places raided Tuesday include a three-storey building in IRC Village of Bhubaneswar, a six-storey building in Jayadev Vihar, a single-story building in Sarakantara of Khandagiri, a flat on the second floor in Narendra Villa, a three-storey apartment named Ananya Towers, a three-story apartment at Balisahi locality of Basudevpur in Bhadrak, a temporary residence of his associate at Ananya Towers, ancestral house and a relative’s house, both at Haripur area of Simulia in Balasore, including Samal’s office room in Bhubaneswar.
PNN
