I-T Officials Raid Properties Of Former Odisha MLA Jitu Patnaik In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Income Tax Department officials on Thursday raided office and residential premises of former MLA of Champua Constituency Jitendra Nath Patnaik at Joda in Odisha’s Keonjhar district.

According to sources, two teams are carrying out simultaneous raids at the ex-legislator’s house near Sai temple at Joda and mines office at Baneikala Square on allegations of tax evasion.

Last year, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had seized Rs 133 crore in fixed deposits of Patnaik following raids at four places, including house at Surya Nagar in Bhubaneswar, over money laundering charges. The case was filed on the basis of Odisha vigilance department’s probe against him in 2009 over illegal mining worth Rs 2,000 crore

Patnaik was elected as an independent legislator in 2009 when he was the richest candidate in the assembly elections. He joined the ruling BJD in 2014.