‘Crorepati Babu’ comes under vigilance scanner in Odisha
Bhubaneswar: As part of its continued action against corrupt government officials in the state, the Odisha Vigilance on Monday unearthed huge movable and immovable assets amassed by a ‘crorepati babu’ and his family members.
The vigilance officials on Monday carried out simultaneous raids at the properties linked to the accused official identified as Pradeep Kumar Rath in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Bhadrak, Jajpur, and Khordha following the allegation of possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Rath is currently posted as an Additional Chief Engineer in the Odisha Bridge & Construction Corporation (OBCC), Cuttack Circle.
“Twelve teams of Odisha Vigilance conducted the searches based on the strength of search warrants issued by the Court of Special Judge, Vigilance, Cuttack,” a vigilance official said.
During the searches, it was found that Rath and his family members own 42 plots in the upscale areas of Bhubaneswar, Khordha, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Bhadrak, and Jajpur districts.
Vigilance sources asserted that the total registered sales deed value comes to over Rs. 1.36 crore but the actual value is likely to be much higher.
The officials also found that Rath and his family members are in possession of two multi-storey buildings in Bhubaneswar and Bhadrak, two flats in Bhubaneswar, one medicine store in Bhubaneswar, a crusher unit at Ghatipiri in Dhenkanal district, along with gold and silver ornaments and deposits of over Rs 1.38 crore, among other things.
The technical wing of Odisha Vigilance is carrying out measurement and assessment of the above buildings, flats, etc., to ascertain their actual price.