Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance officials Friday unearthed four buildings, a flat, seven high-value plots, gold jewellery and bank deposits worth around Rs 1 crore during searches linked to a senior soil conservation official in Sundargada district, officials said.
Acting on a tip-off, vigilance sleuths led by an additional superintendent of police launched searches at the office and properties of Prasanna Kumar Patra, deputy director, soil conservation-cum-project director, watershed, Sundargada, on suspicion that he possessed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income, they said.
During the searches, officials found four buildings, a flat, seven high-value plots in Bhubaneswar, 211 grams of gold, Rs 1.29 lakh in cash, three two-wheelers and deposits of around Rs 1 crore, an officer said.
The registered sale deed value of the seven plots is around Rs 1 crore, while their market value is likely to be significantly higher, he said, adding that searches and property valuation were continuing.
Patra joined government service in 1995 as a junior soil conservation officer, with an initial monthly salary of Rs 7,000.
He was promoted to assistant soil conservation officer in 2017, assistant director of soil conservation in 2019 and deputy director of soil conservation in 2024.
