Odisha: Senior govt officer under vigilance scanner over DA charges

Bhubaneswar, May 15 (IANS) The Odisha Vigilance on Thursday unearthed assets worth crores during raids conducted at different places linked to a senior state government official on the charges of amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

The senior officer, Asit Kumar Patra, is currently working as Additional Block Development Officer (ABDO), Dharmasala Block, Jajpur district.

“On the allegation of possession of assets disproportionate to the known sources of income, simultaneous house searches were conducted on the properties of Asit Kumar Patra, Addl. BDO, Dharmasala Block, Jajpur on May 15, 2025 at seven places in Jajpur, Cuttack, Bhadrak and Bhubaneswar (Khordha) districts,” informed the state vigilance on Thursday.

The anti-corruption wing of the Odisha government further stated that as many as seven teams of Odisha Vigilance, comprising eight Deputy Superintendents of Police, nine Inspectors, and other supporting staff, conducted the search on the strength of warrants issued by the Court of Special Judge, Vigilance, Cuttack on Thursday.

The places where the raids have been carried out include Patra’s native village at Garadeswar near Sundarimuhan in Jajpur, the official residential quarter and office room at Dharamshala of Jajapur, a relative’s house in Bhandaripokhari of Bhadrak district, etc.

The vigilance sleuths during the search found Patra in possession of three multi-storeyed buildings, a shopping complex in Jajpur, a two-BHK flat in Cuttack city, five high-value plots, including four plots in posh areas of Jajpur road.

The Technical Wing of Vigilance is conducting the measurement and valuation of the above buildings/flats/shopping complexes/plots to ascertain their actual market value.

Additionally, the officials unearthed cash of Rs 1,85,560, gold ornaments weighing 700 gms, bank and insurance deposits worth Rs 65 lakhs, two 2-wheelers and household articles worth over Rs 3.27 lakhs.

As per reports, in 2024, Odisha Vigilance registered 211 cases against 345 persons including 54 Class-I officers, 46 Class-II officers, 140 Class-III employees, two Class-IV employees, 19 other public servants and 84 private persons.

The 211 cases included 62 Disproportionate Assets (DA) cases, 96 trap cases and the rest of the corruption cases.

--IANS

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