This story is from June 29, 2022

Raids on horticulture officer yield Rs 5 crore in Bihar

Economic Offences Unit (EOU) sleuths on Tuesday unearthed disproportionate assets (DA) worth over Rs5 crore in simultaneous raids on the residential premises and office of assistant director of horticulture Shambhu Prasad in Patna and Muzaffarpur.
Raids on horticulture officer yield Rs 5 crore in Bihar
PATNA: Economic Offences Unit (EOU) sleuths on Tuesday unearthed disproportionate assets (DA) worth over Rs5 crore in simultaneous raids on the residential premises and office of assistant director of horticulture Shambhu Prasad in Patna and Muzaffarpur. The estimated cost of his properties is almost 110% more than his known sources of income, the EOU officials said.

Raids were conducted on his two residential premises in Patna and one rented accommodation and office in Muzaffarpur. According to the EOU statement, Shambhu is currently posted in Muzaffarpur and has been serving the agriculture department since October 1982. He was earlier posted as district horticulture officer of Nawada, assistant soil conservation officer in Rajauli (Nawada) and block agriculture officer at Barauni in Begusarai district.
The EOU team found Rs 2,03,000 in Shambhu’s salary account, while Rs 16,70,000 was found in his wife’s account and Rs 11,51,000 in his son’s account.
Officer's Patna house valued at Rs 2 crore: EOU
The EOU sources said a huge amount of cash was also withdrawn from time to time and transferred to other bank accounts.
"Shambu has purchased a residential flat in Dharma Apartment at Gokulpath, Mainpura under Shastri Nagar police station area and a luxurious house (G+4) in Patel Nagar, whose value is said to be more than Rs2.03 crore. About Rs2.46 crore was spent on purchasing the house and its registration. He has invested Rs19 lakh in insurances and postal savings. He owns one SUV and two motorcycles worth Rs26.5 lakh. On the basis of assets and other expenses, disproportionate assets have been calculated to be worth Rs2,02,31,172," an EOU official said.

The EOU also seized documents related to some other properties and purchase of diamonds worth Rs3 lakh and Rs 50,000 in cash. Passbooks of 20 bank accounts and 03 lockers have been seized. Further investigation will be done after analysing the recovered documents, the official said.
The EOU had registered a disproportionate assets (DA) case against Shambhu on June 27 under the Prevention of Corruption Act and procured search warrant from the special court on Tuesday.
author
About the Author
Faryal Rumi

She is working with the Times of India as a Senior Digital Content Creator on the Patna desk.

End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA