Assets worth Rs 5 cr found from a BDO in Odisha

Bhubaneswar, June 18 (IANS) The Odisha vigilance has detected properties over Rs 5 crore including 24 plots, two palatial buildings of Rs 1 crore each and four four-wheelers from a block development officer (BDO), officials said on Saturday.

Acting on an allegation of possession of disproportionate assets, six vigilance teams conducted simultaneous raids on the properties of Ashwini Kumar Das, BDO, Jaleswar in Balasore district on Saturday.

During the raid at six places in Cuttack, Balasore and Kendrapara districts, the vigilance sleuths found movable and immovable assets worth over Rs 5.07 crore, the officials said.

The vigilance said it has detected 24 plots in prime area of Cuttack and Kendrapara districts, whose registered sale deed value comes to about Rs.76.4 lakh. However, the actual value is likely to be much more, they said.

A triple storeyed building along with a brick factory worth Rs 1.22 crore and a double storeyed building worth over Rs 1.10 crore was found during the raid.

Besides, bank & insurance deposits of Rs 73.91 lakh, Rs 1.70 lakh cash, gold jewellery & silver ornaments worth Rs 42.57 lakh, 4 four wheelers (Innova, Scorpio, MG Hector & Nano) worth Rs 40 lakh and three two wheelers & household articles of total value Rs 39.81 lakh were found by the vigilance teams.

The officials informed that Ashwini Kumar Das started his government service as junior assistant in agriculture department in 1995. He was promoted to the ORS in 2015 and to OAS in 2020.

He is being examined to ascertain the source of the assets. Further searches are continuing to unearth more properties of the BDO, they added.