Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance on Monday uncovered an additional 703 grams of gold and 375 grams of silver from a fifth bank locker belonging to Assistant Executive Engineer Baikuntha Nath Behera.
He was arrested on Sunday for allegedly amassing disproportionate assets that exceed his known income by a staggering 798%.
“With this, total gold recovered stands at 1.255 kg,” an official release said.
The anti-corruption agency had raided the properties linked to Behera, who was posted at the ITDA office in Kandhamal’s Baliguda, on Saturday during which he and his family members were found in possession of five buildings in Bhubaneswar and one in Dharmasala, besides 14 plots including eight in Bhubaneswar, five in Jajpur and one in Baripada. In addition to the real estate, 552 grams of gold ornaments, over Rs 45 lakh in bank deposits, and a massive cache of cash were seized. This included more than Rs 2 crore stashed across various bank lockers in the capital city, alongside Rs 2 lakh recovered directly from his residence at Patia.
Official records paint a stark contrast between Behera’s official earnings and his current wealth. He entered government service in August 1999 as a Junior Engineer, earning a modest monthly salary of approximately Rs 6,000. Over the years, he served in various tribal development agencies and engineering assignments before being promoted as Assistant Executive Engineer in February this year and has been working in Baliguda since.