Vigilance Raid On Dismissed Cop Who Ran Bar In Bhubaneswar; Focus On Rs 2 Cr Furniture Showroom

Bhubaneswar: Simultaneous raids are being carried out by vigilance sleuths at five locations of dismissed Odisha Police constable Prasanna Behera on disproportionate assets charges.

Five teams led by 2 DSPs, 5 inspectors and other officers are engaged in the searches, a Vigilance release said on Thursday.

The searches are being conducted at:

1) Residential Quarter no. G-12-Police, Kalpana Square and the extended building

2) Spark Furniture Pvt Ltd at Dumduma, Khandagiri

3) Furniture workshop located at Santhavihar, Lingipur.

4) South City Bar at Patrapada

5) Double-storey building at his native village, Nuapada, in Khurda district

According to the release, the showroom at Dumduma was registered in 2019 at Rs 1.47 crore. The actual market value, however, is much higher, almost Rs 2 crore.

The Vigilance Technical Wing has been deputed to carry out the valuation of buildings.

Vigilance Finance Wing and Vigilance Forest Wing personnel along with professional furniture manufacturers have been roped in for valuation of costly furniture items displayed in the showroom. The source of purchase of plot and construction of showroom and furniture items will be thoroughly probed, it added.

The release further said that hise residential quarters at Kalpana Square has been unauthorizedly extended and eight more rooms (3 bedrooms, 1 drawing room, 1 dining room, 1 kitchen, 1 puja room and 1 bathroom) have been added to it. Vigilance Technical Wing is carrying out measurements and valuations.

The constable, who is also president of Odisha Constable and Havildar Association, was dismissed from service on October 24 following his arrest for allegedly running the South City Hotel without a licence and flouting COVID-19 guidelines.

Behera co-managed the bar, which hogged the crime spotlight after the murder of Manish Anurag, with owner Pradyumna Jena.

Eight departmental proceedings and five criminal cases are pending against him.