After Recovering Rs 2 Cr Cash During Raids, Odisha Vigilance Brings Malkangiri Watershed PD To Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: After unearthing around Rs two crore in cash during raids at properties linked to deputy director and project director (PD) of Watershed in Malkangiri, Odisha Vigilance on Thursday brought him to Bhubaneswar for the inventory of his locker at SBI in Kapilaprasad Branch.

The government official, identified as Santanu Mohapatra, is accused of accumulating assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

During raids conducted at multiple locations linked to the official, Vigilance officials uncovered huge quantities of wealth. Officials reported the discovery of around Rs 2.06 crore in cash along with 422 grams of gold during the searches.

Sources said his real estate portfolio is notably expansive, featuring various landholdings throughout the state and a number of luxurious residences. Notably, he owns a three-storey house in Koraput, occupying an area of 6,000 square feet. He is also in possession of four valuable plots within Jeypore and Bhubaneswar.

A release from Vigilance said Mohapatra is suspected to have misappropriated government funds. Mohapatra and his colleagues are suspected to have siphoned off government funds showing work done and making payments to labour accounts, which were then withdrawn and misappropriated.

Large number of passbooks of labourers were reportedly recovered during searches at the residence of Biswajit Mandal, DEO and Amiyakanta Sahu, a contractual employee of the office, it said.

From preliminary investigation, it appears that the labourers’ bank accounts were being operated by these functionaries to smoothly carry out withdrawal and misappropriation of government funds. A separate enquiry has been launched in this regard, and files connected to works shown completed in the last 2 years have been brought for scrutiny.

Investigation also revealed that one Alekh Chandra Pradhan operating a Jan Seva Kendra at Jagannath Prasad, Ganjam was acting as a conduit of Mohapatra in bribe collection. He was allegedly collecting bribes online from contractors and others on behalf of Mohapatra, and transferring the same to him later. During searches, evidence of transfers done by Pradhan to the tune of more than Rs 1 Crore since 2019 till 2024 have been gathered, said the Vigilance release.

Of the total Rs 2.06 crore cash recovered, over Rs 1.98 crore was seized from Mohapatra’s house, while the remaining amount was recovered from people connected to him. 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 seizure of Rs 2.06 crore is among the top three largest cash recoveries in the history of Odisha’s 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.