‘Official who threw out ₹20 lakh cash arrested, has ₹14.9 crore assets’: Odisha vigilance

Odisha registered the highest number of disproportionate assets cases against government officials in 2020, according to data compiled by NCRB. Odisha’s vigilance team filed 93 cases; 300 such FIRs were filed across the country.

Updated on: Nov 11, 2021, 24:07:15 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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BHUBANESWAR: A 53-year-old deputy manager with the state-run Odisha State Police Housing and Welfare Corporation Limited was arrested by vigilance officials on Wednesday on charges of amassing disproportionate assets of ₹14.87 crore, people aware of the development said.

Pratap Samal was arrested by Odisha’s vigilance team on Wednesday for allegedly amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

A senior vigilance official said they suspected the deputy manager, identified as Pratap Samal, allegedly owned at least 25 plots, and three buildings including a 5-storey building in Bhubaneswar. The official had bank deposits of ₹1.61 crore and paid an annual insurance premium of nearly ₹57.72 lakh.

Samal and his wife Sasmita couldn’t explain the source of the assets, the official claimed. She has been charged with abetting her husband.

“This is the highest-ever seizure of disproportionate assets by a state government official,” a second vigilance official said, underlining that the ₹14.87 crore figure was the acquisition value of the assets as is the norm for disproportionate assets cases, and not the market value which would be much higher.

Director Vigilance Yeshwant Jethwa said his officials are committed to taking stronger actions against corruption in the coming days.

“We have a proficient pool of skilled Investigators, a legal team comprising legal advisors, counsels, a financial wing with CAs (chartered accountants), banking officers for an in-depth analysis of financial transactions, a technical wing comprising civil engineers for valuation of properties. We are going to use the latest technology for investigations,” said Jethwa.

The previous record for disproportionate assets unearthed by vigilance officials in Odisha was associated with former Indian Forest Service officer Abhay Kant Pathak. When he was raided in November last, officials allegedly found assets worth ₹9.35 crore.

When vigilance officials raided Pratap Samal’s house on Tuesday, he allegedly pushed a carton packed with bundles of currency notes from his roof to his neighbour’s house in Bhubaneswar’s IRC village. But the vigilance officials saw him and brought back the carton.

Officials counted currency notes totalling ₹20 lakh. Another ₹18 lakh was found in his house.

Samal, who did a diploma in civil engineering, joined the corporation set up in 1980 to construct buildings for the police, as a junior engineer in August 1988. He was promoted to the rank of deputy manager in 2013, and drew a monthly salary of ₹71,000 last month, a vigilance official said.

Last year, Odisha topped the states in lodging disproportionate assets cases against corrupt government officials. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 93 such cases were registered by Odisha in 2020 followed by Gujarat with 37 cases, and Tamil Nadu with 21 cases. The NCRB report said disproportionate assets amounting to ₹123.92 crore were seized in Odisha, up from ₹62.83 crore assets seized by the vigilance department from government employees in 2019.

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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