Bhubaneswar, March 26 The Odisha Vigilance Department has seized properties, including a building, five plots, cash and deposits worth over Rs 1 crore, and two heavy machinery vehicles, from the possession of an engineer in the irrigation department, officials said on Thursday.
Acting on a tip-off about the engineer's disproportionate assets, vigilance officers conducted raids at five locations and the office of Panchu Behera, an assistant engineer posted as a sub-divisional officer in the Bhanjanagar irrigation division of Ganjam district, the department said in a statement.
During the raid, they found a three-story building in Berhampur, five plots in and around that town, Rs 18.90 lakh in cash, and deposits worth Rs 90 lakh in banks and other financial institutions, it said.
Besides, 568 grams of gold, a mixing machine worth Rs 57 lakh, an excavator machine valued at Rs 37 lakh, a car, and household items worth Rs 8.5 lakh were also found during the search operation.
The investigation in this regard is ongoing, said a vigilance officer.
