Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance on Sunday arrested Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) at the Derabish Irrigation Sub-Division under Kendrapara Irrigation Division, Pramod Kumar Ray, on charges of possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The arrest follows extensive searches conducted on Saturday at seven locations linked to Ray, including properties in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack districts. These raids were carried out based on warrants issued by the Special Judge, Vigilance, Cuttack, amid
allegations of amassing unexplained wealth.
During the searches, the anti-corruption agency unearthed two multi-storeyed buildings, one over 8,000 square feet area in Bhubaneswar, and another over 5,200 square feet area in Choudwar, two plots of land, Rs 4.48 lakh in cash, bank deposits totalling to Rs 39.21 lakh, 4 two-wheelers and household articles worth around Rs 13 lakh.
Ray could not satisfactorily explain the sources of these assets, a Vigilance release said.
He entered into government service on June 10, 1988 as a junior engineer under Sundargarh Irrigation Division with initial salary of Rs 1,500. He worked as JE under different Irrigation Divisions, Mahanadi North Division & Bhawanipatna Survey & Investigation Division from 1988 to 2020. In January 2021, he was promoted to the rank of Assistant Executive Engineer under Kendrapada Irrigation Division and posted at Derabish Irrigation Sub-Division.