ED conducts raids on college run by BJD MLA over alleged money laundering charge

The engineering college run by him is in Bhadrak district and there were allegations that he illegally encroached upon it decades ago

Published on: Feb 15, 2024, 11:54:29 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday started multiple raids on the premises of senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLA and former minister Prafulla Samal including an engineering college tun by him over money laundering allegations.

The raids were conducted at premises of senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLA and former minister Prafulla Samal. (Representative file photo)

The engineering college run by him is in Bhadrak district and there were allegations that he illegally encroached upon it decades ago.

The raid sby ED officials began at ten premises of Samal in Bhubaneswar and Bhadrak including the Bhadrak Institute of Engineering and Technology which has encroached upon at least 5 acres of government land decades ago.

Samal, who represents the Bhandaripokhari constituency of Bhadrak district, started the institute which offers technical and professional courses including B. Tech and MBA.

Also Read:ED raids Karnataka Congress MLA, conducts searches at Bengaluru and Bellary

The ED is also conducting raids on the house of the former principal of the institute who allegedly played a key role in the land encroachment and money laundering.

According to people aware of the matter in the federal agency, the raids happened after the district police recently lodged a first information report (FIR) in which it was alleged that Samal and his son Prayaskanti, who is the president of the institute were involved in a multi-crore money laundering case.

The father-son duo allegedly swindled crores of rupees collected from students as fee to buy lands and flats in Bhubaneswar and other places.

The managing committee of the institute occupied nearly 5.12 acres of land that was kept for cremation ground of Barapada grampanchayat in Bhandaripokhari block in early 2000.

Academic building, girls’ hostel and a market complex have been built over the allegedly illegally acquired land amid opposition from people of Barapada panchayat.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More