Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance sleuths on Friday arrested regional transport officer (RTO) of Boudh district, Basant Kumar Mohapatra (55), accused of amassing assets to the tune of about Rs 19 crore.
According to a Vigilance release, he was found in possession of disproportionate assets, including 2 high-value flats and 2 commercial shopping outlets in Bhubaneswar, and had paid Rs 2.23 crore to realtors as advance for purchasing two more flats in upscale areas of Bhubaneswar and Bengaluru city. Deposits over Rs.3.90 crore, gold weighing 590 grams, Rs 1.16 in cash were also seized during the raid on Thursday, for which he could not account for satisfactorily.
Mohapatra will be produced before the court of Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar, it added.
If the amount of the disproportionate assets (DA) is found to be over Rs 15 crore, it could be the highest ever haul in the state, sources said.
Among Mohapatra’s high valued properties are a 3,000 sqft flat worth Rs 1 crore in a prime apartment at Pahala, two commercial shopping outlets worth over Rs 2 crore in a swanky mall at Kalpana Square, and a 3-BHK flat worth Rs 1 crore at Kalpana Square. While Rs 1.35 crore advance was paid to a realtor for purchasing a 5-BHK flat at Kalarahanga, Rs 88 lakh advance payment was made for a flat in Bengaluru.
Mohapatra had joined he transport department as an electrical engineer on September 9, 1991. He was promoted to the rank of junior motor vehicle inspector (MVI) in 2014 and worked in Balasore, Koraput, Bargarh and Gajpati districts. In 2021, he was promoted to the rank of MVI and posted at Bhubaneswar. Mohapatra has been working as RTO, Boudh, since May 1, 2022.
