Cash rains out of Odisha govt employee's window as officials raid his home; seize over ₹2 crore
Baikuntha Nath Sarangi, Chief Engineer of Plan Roads at Odisha's RW division, was under the vigilance team's radar in a suspected disproportionate assets case.
The Odisha Vigilance on Friday recovered more than ₹2 crore in cash and valuable assets from the possession of a government engineer during a raid at his home over suspected disproportionate assets.
The Odisha Police's anti-corruption wing carried out raids at the residences and the office of Baikuntha Nath Sarangi, the Chief Engineer of Plan Roads at the state's RW division in Bhubaneswar, news agency PTI reported.
Officials said that the search operations at these locations were still underway.
Of the cash recovered from Sarangi, officials said, around ₹1 crore in cash was seized from his Bhubaneswar flat, while ₹1.1 crore was found at his residence in Angul.
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However, as soon as Sarangi's eye caught the officials entering his building, he decided to make it rain cash. He "threw bundles of cash in ₹500 denomination through the window of his flat in Bhubaneswar. The cash was recovered in the presence of witnesses," another official said.
Sarangi is accused of possessing assets that are disproportionate to his income. Search warrants issued by the Special Vigilance Judge at Angul allowed officials to carry out simultaneous raids.
{{/usCountry}}Sarangi is accused of possessing assets that are disproportionate to his income. Search warrants issued by the Special Vigilance Judge at Angul allowed officials to carry out simultaneous raids.
{{/usCountry}}An official said that the vigilance team located a two-storey residential house at Angul's Karadagadia and flats in Bhubaneswar, Siula, and Pipli in Puri district.
ALSO READ | ED seizes ₹1.70 cr cash, documents in raids against Jaypee Infratech Ltd, others
{{/usCountry}}An official said that the vigilance team located a two-storey residential house at Angul's Karadagadia and flats in Bhubaneswar, Siula, and Pipli in Puri district.
ALSO READ | ED seizes ₹1.70 cr cash, documents in raids against Jaypee Infratech Ltd, others
{{/usCountry}}Search operations were also conducted at Sarangi's ancestral house and relatives' home in Angul. Officials also raided his office chamber located at the Chief Engineer, RD Planning and Road, Bhubaneswar.
{{/usCountry}}Search operations were also conducted at Sarangi's ancestral house and relatives' home in Angul. Officials also raided his office chamber located at the Chief Engineer, RD Planning and Road, Bhubaneswar.
{{/usCountry}}In another financial crime-related case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested a deputy director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Odisha for allegedly taking a bribe of ₹20 lakh from a Bhubaneswar-based businessman.
ALSO READ | Torres scam: ED searches in Mumbai and Surat, seizes ₹6.30 crore cash
{{/usCountry}}In another financial crime-related case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested a deputy director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Odisha for allegedly taking a bribe of ₹20 lakh from a Bhubaneswar-based businessman.
ALSO READ | Torres scam: ED searches in Mumbai and Surat, seizes ₹6.30 crore cash
{{/usCountry}}The arrested ED official, Chintan Raghuvanshi, allegedly demanded ₹5 crore from businessman Ratikanta Rout, who runs a stone-mining business in Dhenkanal, for giving him "relief" in a case registered against him.
Raghuvanshi, a 2013 batch IRS officer of Customs and Indirect Taxes, was allegedly caught by the central agency during the trap operation it set up for him. Later, he was arrested after questioning, officials said.
