Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance Department sleuths Sunday arrested a woman engineer after detecting properties including Rs 7.15 lakh cash, deposits of Rs 63 lakh, and five plots from her possession, officials said.
The arrested engineer has been identified as Anupama Sahoo, assistant executive engineer (AEE), drainage division, Kendrapada, a vigilance officer said.
Acting on a tip-off, vigilance sleuths intercepted Sahoo’s official vehicle at Marshaghai crossing on NH 53-A Saturday when she was on her way to her house in Kendrapada district. During interception, suspected ill-gotten cash of Rs 3.15 lakh was recovered from her, said K B Acharya, Vigilance SP, Kataka.
During a further search of the engineer’s properties, the anti-corruption department seized Rs 4 lakh cash from her residence at Nayanvihar in Kendrapada, taking the total cash seizure to Rs 7.15 lakh, he said.
An amount of Rs 63 lakh in deposits, one flat in Bhubaneswar, one rod & cement godown at Kamakshyanagar in Dhenkanal district, a shop in Bolangir, and five plots in Bhubaneswar, Anugul and Dhenkanal were unearthed during the raid, Acharya stated.
The SP said that Sahoo joined government service as a junior engineer (JE) in 2003 under the Anugul irrigation division with an initial salary of Rs 4,000 per month. In 2009, her service was regularised.
After being promoted to the rank of assistant engineer, she was posted at Dhenkanal and then promoted to the rank of AEE and continued there. In March this year, Sahoo was transferred to the Drainage Division, Kendrapada as AEE, he added.
