Odisha Vigilance Arrests Superintending Engineer, Seizes ₹21.88 Lakh Unaccounted Cash
Bhubaneswar: In a major anti-corruption crackdown, Odisha Vigilance on Saturday arrested Prasanjit Das, Superintending Engineer of the Mahanadi Northern Division, Jagatpur, after seizing ₹21.88 lakh in suspected unaccounted cash during a late-night operation.
According to Vigilance officials, the operation was launched based on intelligence inputs alleging that the engineer had been collecting bribes from contractors.
A Vigilance team intercepted him near AG Chowk in Bhubaneswar while he was travelling in an officially hired Bolero vehicle.
During the interception, officials recovered ₹7.28 lakh in cash from the vehicle.
Subsequent searches at premises linked to the officer led to the recovery of an additional ₹14.60 lakh from his rented flat at Trident Galaxy, Ghatikia, taking the total seizure to ₹21.88 lakh.
Vigilance teams also carried out searches at his ancestral property in the Bargarh area of Bhubaneswar as part of the ongoing investigation.
Officials stated that Prasanjit Das failed to provide a satisfactory explanation or supporting documents regarding the source of the recovered cash. Consequently, the entire amount was seized by the Vigilance Department.
A case has been registered against the engineer under Sections 13(2) and 13(1)(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018.
He remains in detention and is being questioned regarding the source of the money and his alleged links to contractor kickbacks.
The investigation is continuing, and Vigilance officials are examining financial records and other evidence to determine the extent of the alleged corruption network.
