Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance officials on Wednesday recovered gold ornaments weighing 606.30 grams, valued at around Rs 84 lakh, from a bank locker belonging to Prasanjit Das, the Superintending Engineer of Mahanadi Northern Division at Jagatpur in Kataka, who was arrested last month after a night-long chase.
The recovery took place during Das’s three-day police remand, granted by the Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar, from November 2 to 4, 2026, to assist in the ongoing disproportionate assets investigation.
During the remand, officials escorted Das to an Axis Bank branch in Baragada for an inventory of the locker he operated there. The exercise yielded the gold jewellery, which has been seized as part of the ongoing probe linked to a case registered at Bhubaneswar Vigilance police station under Sections 13(2) read with 13(1)(b) of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.
Das was arrested on October 17, after Vigilance teams intercepted his vehicle near AG Square in Bhubaneswar and recovered Rs 7,28,620 in suspected ill-gotten cash. The interception followed a tip-off that he had allegedly collected bribes from contractors at the Irrigation Inspection Bungalow in Jagatpur. Simultaneous searches at his rented flat in Trident Galaxy, Ghatikia, Bhubaneswar, and his paternal house in Baragada unearthed an additional Rs 14.60 lakh in cash, bringing the total cash seizure to Rs 21,88,620. He could not provide a satisfactory explanation for the funds at the time.
Das, who joined government service as an Assistant Executive Engineer (Civil) in 2016, was later promoted and posted as Superintending Engineer of Mahanadi Northern Division in June 2026.