Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance arrested Arabinda Mohanty, Executive Engineer (EE) of R&B Sub-Division in Mayurbhanj district, for allegedly possessing huge assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Mohanty, now posted at Betanati under the R&B Division, Baripada, will be produced before the Court of the Special Judge, Vigilance, Baripada, Vigilance said in a statement.
The arrest followed simultaneous searches conducted at multiple locations linked to the engineer. According to Odisha Vigilance, Mohanty was found in possession of assets allegedly disproportionate to his known sources of income, which he could not satisfactorily explain.
According to Vigilance, the assets detected so far include two multi-storeyed buildings, a five-acre farmhouse, 23 high-value plots, approximately 300 grams of gold, Rs 10,57,500 in cash, bank deposits of Rs 69.69 lakh and a four-wheeler, among other assets.
Of the total cash recovered, Rs 2.50 lakh was unearthed during a search at Mohanty’s residential house in Balianta, Bhubaneswar, on Tuesday, the Vigilance said.
Earlier, the agency had recovered cash and gold from a locker allegedly held by Mohanty in the name of a contractor. The locker had reportedly been used as a benami arrangement.
Vigilance officials had also recovered documents relating to 20 plots that were allegedly concealed at the residence of the contractor in Baleshwar. Some of the documents were reportedly buried underground after the raids were launched and were subsequently recovered after the earth was dug up.
During the searches, the Vigilance detected a triple-storeyed building measuring around 3,500 sq ft at Angargadia in Baleshwar and a double-storeyed building of approximately 1,800 sq ft at Balianta in Khordha district.
A five-acre farmhouse at Basantapur in Baleshwar, comprising two fish ponds and a poultry farm, was also detected.
The agency has so far traced 23 high-value plots in and around Baleshwar, while the Vigilance Technical Wing is carrying out detailed measurements, valuation and assessment of the properties.
A four-wheeler and two two-wheelers were also detected during the searches.
The Vigilance has registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018, against Mohanty. The investigation is underway and Vigilance is verifying his bank deposits, investments and other financial assets.