Odisha engineer invested ₹1.75 cr in crypto-currencies. Raided, he tosses them out

In a statement, the Odisha vigilance department said the engineer and his family owned six plots, a flat and a three-storeyed building apart from investing ₹1.75 crore in crypto-currencies

Published on: Oct 28, 2022, 22:53:39 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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BHUBANESWAR: In a first of its kind seizure, sleuths of Odisha’s vigilance department on Friday allegedly confiscated documents with proof of investments worth ₹1.75 crore in crypto-currencies from the house of a 59-year-old additional chief engineer of state rural development department.

The senior Odisha engineer tried to throw the documents relating to his investment in crypto-currencies and a mobile phone, from the window of his apartment. (Twitter/OdishaVigilance)

The senior engineer tried to throw the documents relating to his investment in crypto-currencies and a mobile phone, from the window of his apartment. But vigilance officers saw him and recovered the papers.

The vigilance department identified the official as Nihar Ranjan Das, additional chief engineer(planning, monitoring, design and investigation) of Bhubaneswar circle of rural water supply and sanitation wing of rural development department. He threw out a mobile phone and stacks of laminated documents containing details of his crypto-currency investments on Friday morning when the vigilance team was just about to start the raid on his premises over information that he amassed assets disproportionate to his known source of income.

“He had just tossed a bundle of papers and a mobile phone from the window of his apartment in Kharavela Nagar area of Bhubaneswar when our team of 5 Dy SPs and 12 inspectors saw it and quickly recovered. By this evening, our crypto-experts could ascertain that Das invested at least ₹1.75 crore in crypto-currencies... He has created a set of dummy names and e-mails for investments in crypto-currency,” said Yashwant Jethwa, director of vigilance department.

“This is the first case when our sleuths have found of a state government official suspected of amassing disproportionate assets investing in crypto-currency.”

Vigilance officials who raided five other locations in Khurdha, Sambalpur and Bargarh districts of Odisha, said that apart from the investments in crypto-currency, Das was found to be in possession of an apartment worth ₹32.5 lakh, a three-storeyed building in Sambalpur town, 6 plots in prime area of Sambalpur town worth ₹1.27 crore, bank and insurance deposits worth about ₹64.42 lakh.

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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