Official raided in Odisha as vigilance dept unearths 85 plots under him, family

Following a raids on the superintending engineer of irrigation of Balasore Division, they found a 5-storey building, market complex, 85 plots, 218 gms gold and ₹11.7 lakh cash

Updated on: Aug 2, 2024, 18:17:29 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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A senior engineer of the state’s water resources department who had accumulated disproportionate assets including 85 plots, was raided on Friday, Odisha’s vigilance department stated.

The plots were purchased by the officer in different years in his name as well as that of his family members. (Representative file photo)

Following a raid on the premises of Pravas Kumar Pradhan, superintending engineer of irrigation of Balasore Division, they found a five-storey building, market complex, 85 plots, 218 grams gold and ₹11.7 lakh in cash.

“The plots were purchased by Pradhan in different years in his name as well as that of his family members. The total registered sale deed value comes to over ₹2 crore. However, the actual value will be several times higher as the plots have been undervalued in government documents. Even going by the price mentioned in sale deed, the officer has accumulated assets disproportionate to his known sources of income,” said YK Jethwa, director of vigilance.

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The vigilance officials tracked the plots accumulated by Pradhan during their surveillance over the last three months.

“If we take the benchmark value of the plots, they would be more than ₹6 crore while the actual market price would be more. Of the 85 plots, 84 are in Odisha while 1 is in Bengal,” said vigilance officials.

Though Pradhan was promoted as chief engineer of Baitarani Barrage Division at Salapada in Keonjhar, he is yet to assume charge.

Earlier this week, another officer was also raided by the vigilance department.

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

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