Malkangiri: Odisha anti-corruption vigilance sleuths Wednesday seized around Rs 2 crore in cash from the house of a state government officer in Malkangiri district during a raid, officials said.
The vigilance officials raided the house of deputy director and project director of watershed department, Malkangiri, Santanu Mohapatra, for possessing disproportionate assets, they said.
A total of seven vigilance teams, headed by two additional SPs, four DSPs, and other staff, conducted simultaneous searches at multiple locations, including Malkangiri, Cuttack, and Bhubaneswar.
According to vigilance officials, the operation was carried out based on search warrants issued by the special judge, vigilance, Jeypore.
“During the searches, a total of Rs 2.06 crore in cash was recovered. Of this, approximately Rs 1.98 crore was seized from Mohapatra’s house, while the remaining amount was recovered from people connected to him,” said a vigilance spokesperson.
The vigilance also seized gold jewellery weighing 422 grams, bank, insurance, other deposits worth Rs 91 lakh, four high-value plots in Bhubaneswar and Jeypore town, a four-wheeler, two two-wheelers and household articles worth Rs 29 lakh during the search operation.
“Mohapatra has been serving in the government since 1995, after completing his MSc in agricultural economics. He has worked in various capacities in the undivided Koraput and Ganjam districts for about three decades,” the spokesperson added.
The official pointed out that the seizure of Rs 2.06 crore is among the top three largest cash recoveries in the history of Odisha vigilance. “In 2022, Rs 3.41 crore was seized from Kartikeswar Raul, an assistant engineer in the minor irrigation department. In 2023, Rs 3.12 crore was recovered from Prasanta Kumar Rout, an additional sub-collector in Nabarangpur,” the spokesperson added.
PTI
