Bihar: VIB raids on block supply officer unearth DA worth crores

The disproportionate assets allegedly amassed by the block supply officer included flats in New Delhi, Gurugram and Greater Noida, officials said.

PATNA: The vigilance investigation bureau (VIB) on Saturday conducted raids on block supply officer (BSO) of Mushari block, Muzaffarpur, Santosh Kumar, bringing to the fore massive wealth and property allegedly amassed by him that included flats in New Delhi, Gurugram and Greater Noida, officials familiar with the matter said.

VIB official said a DA case has been lodged against the block supply officer and the bureau is yet to reach the exact valuation for the properties. (Representational Image)

Acting on allegations against him of amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income to the tune of ₹2.42 crore, VIB conducted raids at two places belonging to the BSO at his native village Adalwari (Buddha Colony) in Hajipur of Vaishali district and official residence at Muzaffarpur.

During the searches, the BSO was found in possession of over ₹13.7 lakh cash, diamond jewellery worth ₹13 lakh, 1kg each gold and silver ornaments, four-storey building worth about a crore and incriminating documents related to land, plots, flats and other investments.

Verification of various documents of his movable and immovable property was underway at his ancestral house. The raid was carried out with the strength of search warrants, issued by the special judge, Vigilance, Patna against the BSO, who also holds the additional charge of assistant district supply officer (Muzaffarpur, East) Santosh Kumar.

VIB said its sleuths have found Kisan Vikash Patra worth ₹9.80 lakh, a PPF account in Muzaffarpur which deposited ₹37 in the name of Santosh’s wife Mamta Kumari. The BSO also invested ₹25 lakh in different insurance policies.

The seized documents revealed that the BSO purchased a DDA flat in New Delhi worth ₹17.43 lakh, a flat in Express Tower, Gurugram worth ₹26 lakh in the name of his wife and another flat in Supertake at Greater Noida worth ₹21 lakh. The BSO also purchased two shops in Grand Mall of Mithanpura (Muzaffarpur) worth ₹1.08 crore besides 9 plots in Hajipur and Patna worth ₹90 lakh.

VIB also found ₹1.21 crore deposited in separate bank accounts besides ₹10 lakh investment in other financial units.

VIB officials said the bureau is yet to reach the exact valuation for the properties, “but yes, the price of land in those areas is very high and what BSO owns may cost several crores of rupees”.

VIB official said a DA case has been lodged and preliminary probe suggests that BSO bought property with ill-gotten money. Till the last report came in, the searches were underway by the officials of the VIB. “It is a time-consuming process due to raids concluded on the wee hours,” said a senior official of VIB adding that sleuths were assessing the property.