Odisha Officer’s Kin Throws Cash-Stashed Cartons To Neighbour’s Terrace During Vigilance Raid; Rs 3.165 Cr Seized

Bhubaneswar: The Vigilance sleuths recovered around Rs 3.165 crore unaccounted cash during raids on residences of Odisha Administrative Officer (OAS) Prasanta Kumar Rout in Bhubaneswar and Nabarangpur on Friday.

He currently posted as additional sub-collector, Nabarangpur.

According to sources, over Rs 2.25 crore of unaccounted money was found at his residence at Kanan Vihar in Bhubaneswar. Rout’s wife reportedly threw six cash-stashed carton boxes to their neighbour’s terrace and telephoned them requesting to hide the cash. The carton boxes were later recovered from his neighbour’s house and multiple counting machines were used to calculate the huge amount of cash hoarded by Rout.

His family also resisted the Vigilance officials from entering their two-storey house in the city and they had to wait for over 20 minutes before being let in.

Another Rs 89.5 lakh along with gold ornaments was recovered from his Nabarangpur residence, the sources added.

On receiving allegations against Rout for amassing disproportionate assets, searches were carried out his house in Kanan Vihar, residence and office in Nabarangpur, his parental house in Bhadrak district’s Bahudarada village and five different properties belonging to his acquaintances.

This is the second biggest recovery of cash from a government official in the state. In April 2022, the Vigilance had recovered Rs 3.41 crore cash  during raid on properties of Kartikeswar Roul, who was posted as an assistant engineer in Minor Irrigation Division in Ganjam district.

Notably, Odisha Police Housing and Welfare Corporation’s (OPHWC) deputy manager Pratap Samal, had also thrown a bag full of cash on a neighbour’s terrace in a bid to escape a raid by Odisha’s vigilance department in 2021. The total seizure was to the tune of Rs 15 crore, 1021% of the known sources of income of Samal and his family.