Bhubaneswar, December 21 (). Odisha Vigilance Department has tightened the noose on corrupt public servants in the state. In this sequence, on Sunday, another senior officer was arrested on charges of accumulating assets 232 percent more than his sources of income.
The accused officer has been identified as Rajendra Kumar Samantrai, who is posted as Forest Range Officer in Rahma Forest Range of Jagatsinghpur district. Charged with having assets disproportionate to his known sources of income, the Odisha Vigilance Department on Saturday conducted a search operation to identify several properties linked to Samantarai.
The search operation was carried out by four teams of Odisha Vigilance Department, comprising two additional superintendents of police, five deputy superintendents of police, eight inspectors and other support staff. The raids were conducted on the basis of a search warrant issued from the court of the Special Vigilance Judge, Cuttack.
The places searched included a three-storey residential building at Chatara, a two-storey building at his native village, his office at Sampur forest range and a government quarter at Jagatsinghpur forest range complex under Cuttack forest division.
During the search, anti-corruption officials recovered assets worth crores of rupees from Samantarai and his family members. The recovered properties included a luxurious multi-storey building, five valuable plots, Rs 3.69 lakh in cash, 250 grams of gold and bank deposits worth Rs 80.68 lakh, etc.
According to the Vigilance Department, after search and interrogation, the expenditure and assets of the accused were assessed and it was found that he had disproportionate assets by 232 per cent more than his known sources of income.
According to reports, the Odisha Vigilance Department has arrested 271 government employees, including 20 police officers, after being caught red-handed in bribery cases in the last 18 months.
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MS/ABM