Keonjhar: The Economic Offence Wing (EOW) on Friday started proceedings to seal a farmhouse belonging to arrested BJD leader Soumya Shankar (Raja) Chakra, at Gopalpur Mouza in Odisha’s Keonjhar district.
The farmhouse, spanning 11.1 acres with 7.4 acres being government property, features a children’s park, a grand bungalow, high arches, a mango orchard, a pond, a Konark Chakra, and various statues. The property also includes a luxurious cottage, a party house, all-terrain bikes, and a pond with expensive coloured fish.
The agency had earlier raided the property and measured the land.
Meanwhile, the Orissa High Court has rejected the bail plea of Chakra, who is implicated in a Rs 185 crore corruption case related to the Gandhamardan Mine Loading Agency in the district. It had earlier rejected his anticipatory bail plea on March 12 and revoked his interim protection.
The BJD leader was arrested by the Crime Branch on March 13 for his involvement in financial irregularities and misappropriation of funds from the cooperative society between 2017-18 and 2023-24. This came almost a month after EOW arrested the society’s former president Manas Ranjan Barik and secretary Utkal Das regarding the fraud.
The cooperative society managed iron ore loading for state-owned Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC).
Prior to Chakra’s arrest, the EOW conducted searches at multiple locations, including his loading agency office at Suakati, his residence in Keonjhar town, his farmhouse at Gopalpur under Ghatgaon block of the district, and at the checkpoint of industrial corridor. Twenty vehicles, important documents, and other materials were seized during the raids, according to reports.
