Andhra Pradesh: Vigilance arrests assistant engineer with Rs 4.76 crore assets in Ganjam

BERHAMPUR: Vigilance personnel on Friday arrested the assistant engineer (minor irrigation) of Bhanjanagar in Ganjam district on charges of amassing disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs 4.76 crore.
While searching different houses of the accused Kartikeswar Roul (57) of Langaleswar near Khallikote in Ganjam district on Wednesday and Thursday, the vigilance sleuths found assets worth over Rs 4.76 crore, including Rs 2,03,00,880 in cash.
The cash was recovered from his house at Tata Arian flat in Bhubaneswar, where his second wife Kalpana Pradhan is residing, on the second day of raids on Thursday, vigilance sources said.
Two counting machines, 14 officers, including a DSP, an inspector, a sub-inspector and constables took around 12 hours to count the cash. Besides using the machines, they also counted the notes manually, sources added.
Other properties of Roul included 20 gold coins weighing around 580 grams found in the house, two flats and a double-storied building in Bhubaneswar, bank and insurance deposits worth around Rs 37.23 lakh, seven plots — two of these in the prime location of Bhubaneswar.
Upon receiving allegation of possession of assets disproportionate to the known sources of income, the anti-corruption sleuths carried simultaneous searches at six places belonging to Kartikeswar Roul in Khurda and Ganjam districts since Wednesday.
On March 28, vigilance personnel seized over Rs 1.36 crore cash from Ashish Kumar Dash, superintending engineer of rural development department in Malkangiri.
Similarly, on February 16, vigilance sleuths seized Rs 1.12 crore cash while searcing the house of gynaecologist Sukant Jena, who was posted at Charichaka community health centre (CHC) in Puri district.