BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Vigilance has arrested Baikuntha Nath Behera, Assistant Executive Engineer, Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Baliguda in Kandhamal district, in a Disproportionate Assets (DA) case after extensive searches allegedly revealed assets far exceeding his known sources of income.
According to Vigilance officials, searches conducted on Saturday unearthed more than Rs 2 crore in cash stashed in bank lockers, along with multiple immovable and movable assets. The searches were carried out by a team comprising two Additional Superintendents of Police, five DSPs, six Inspectors, and other supporting staff on the strength of search warrants issued by the Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar.
Assets detected so far include cash worth Rs 2.04 crore, five multi-storey buildings, including four in Bhubaneswar, with a combined built-up area of about 17,850 square feet, 13 plots, including seven in Bhubaneswar, around 500 grams of gold, bank deposits worth about Rs 45 lakh, and other assets.
In a post on X, Odisha Vigilance said Behera joined government service in 1999 as a Junior Engineer with a monthly salary of Rs 6,000.
Odisha Vigilance said verification of deposits and investments was carried out by its Finance Wing, while measurement and assessment of the immovable properties were undertaken by the Vigilance Technical Wing.
The searches led to the detection of the assets and the subsequent arrest of the accused.
In a separate case, Odisha Vigilance apprehended Dharma Niranjan Chaudhury, a staffer of TPCODL in Cuttack, while he was allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000 from a farmer.
According to Vigilance, the accused had allegedly demanded the money for facilitating the replacement of a damaged electric pole from the farmer’s agricultural land. Officials further alleged that he had earlier received Rs 8,000 through a UPI transaction from the complainant.
Following the trap, Cuttack Vigilance Police Station Case No. 22 dated June 5, 2026, was registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Investigation into the matter is in progress.
