Baripada: A police constable jumped from the terrace of his residence here and fled Tuesday when Vigilance sleuths raided his house. The raid was conducted as there were allegations that the constable had amassed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. The accused has been identified as Nihar Ranjan Dandapata, a constable posted at the district SP office in Baripada.
Soon after Dandapata’s escape, Baripada Town police launched a manhunt to nab the absconding constable. However, till the time of filing this report Dandapata is still at large..
Acting on the direction of special Vigilance judge, Baripada, 35 officers of Cuttack Vigilance directorate launched simultaneous raids at seven places to probe Dandapata’s assets. He had recently applied for retirement from service before attaining super annuity.
Separate teams of Vigilance sleuths raided the constable’s residence at Belpala village under Badasahi police limits in Mayurbhanj district, the house of his in-laws at Chhend Colony in Rourkela, a three-storied building at Unit-18 in Bhanjapur of Baripada, his official residence at Baripada police line, a cyber café at Ambika Sahi in the town and his LPG dealership ‘Hota Enterprises’ at Murgabadi in Purnachandrapur of Baripada.
During raids, the sleuths seized 350 gas cylinders, 543 empty cylinders, three Ashok Leyland trucks, 10 goods auto rickshaws, two four-wheelers, four bikes. A total of 19 vehicles were seized during the raid. The actual and assets could be ascertained only after the raids get over and a final report is available, Vigilance sources said.
