Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance sleuths on Monday conducted simultaneous raids at six properties linked to Bhanja Kishore Behera, a Senior Revenue Assistant (SRA) of Naugaon Tehsil in Jagatsinghpur arrested on August 12 for misappropriation of over Rs 3 crore of government funds.
An audit-driven investigation by the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department had uncovered a decade of systematic fraud executed between financial years 2011–12 and 2021–22 while Behera served as the SRA at the Tirtol Block office. The anti-corruption wing revealed that Behera, in collusion with former Panchayat Executive Officer Pradipta Kumar Mallik and late Assistant Executive Engineer Rajdeep Hansdah, tampered with official disbursal documents, fabricated salary registers, and submitted inflated bills far exceeding sanctioned budget allocations. Embezzled funds were directly diverted from the Tirtol sub-treasury into their personal savings accounts. Over Rs 1.74 crore channeled into Behera’s own State Bank of India account.
During further interrogation by a team of Odisha Vigilance, Behera admitted to have acquired assets, including a palatial building of 7,000 sqft, tent house, and other valuables with misappropriated amount of around Rs 2 crore.
Assets recovered in the name of Behere and his family members are as follows:
1) A triple-storey palatial building over 7,750 sqft area at Patenigaon, Jagatsinghpur.
2) A double-storey building over 3000 sqft area at Patenigaon.
3) A tent house over 8,400 sqft area at Patenigaon, Jagatsinghpur. Behera had purchased assets/articles worth Rs 30.44 lakh purchased in 2019 for running of tent house.
4) Gold jewellery weighing 210 grams.
5) one four-wheeler (Mahindra Pick-up van)
Measurement and valuation/assessment of the buildings/ tent house are being carried out by Vigilance Technical Wing, and bank, postal deposits and other investments are being ascertained, an official release added.
