Engineer Arrested By Odisha Vigilance Sent To Jail; Huge Assets Unearthed

Bhubaneswar: Executive Engineer of Tel Irrigation Division, Sonepur, who was arrested by Odisha Vigilance on charge of bribery, was produced in court and remanded to jail custody till October 21.

The accused, Jitendra Kumar Padhy, was caught while allegedly accepting Rs 46,000 bribe from a contractor for clearing his pending bills. He was apprehended and caught red-handed in his office chamber after the contractor filed a complaint and Vigilance sleuths laid a trap.

After Vigilance officials recovered the entire bribe amount from the possession of Padhy, simultaneous searches were being carried out at six locations to probe the disproportionate assets angle. During searches, assets unearthed included one triple-storey building, one flat, two plots, farm land over 18 acres and Rs 4.08 lakh cash.

1. Rs 4.08 lakh cash
2. One triple-storey building of total area 3300 sqft. at Sailashree Vihar, Bhubaneswar.
3. One Flat in Brundabanban Enclave, Batamangala, Puri.
4. Two high value plots at Pipili, Puri and Laltikira, Bolangir.
5. A huge patch of farm land of area 18.67 acre at Badamba, Cuttack.

Official sources said the farmland was purchased by Padhy in 2021 at Badamba.

The valuation of the 18 acre plot and investment in it, which included one under construction 1600 sq ft two-storey building, is being done by Vigilance Technical Wing. Bank and other deposits of the accused official are being verified. A case has been registered and further investigation is on, official sources said.