Odisha: Divisional Forest Officer in Vigilance Dept net over DA charges

Bhubaneswar:  The Odisha Vigilance Department on Sunday raided multiple properties linked to a senior official of the state Forest Department on the allegations of amassing assets beyond his known sources of income.

The accused official, Nityananda Nayak, is currently posted as Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Kendu Leaf Division, Keonjhar district.

The house searches were carried out at seven places in Angul, Keonjhar and Nayagarh districts of the state. The places where raids were conducted include his official quarters in Keonjhar, his son’s office and residence in Nayagarh district, Nayak’s paternal house at Madanmohan Patna, in the Bantala area and the house of the in-laws at Jagannathpur in Angul district.

“Seven teams of Odisha Vigilance comprising 3 DSPs, 10 Inspectors, and other supporting staff searched for the strength of Search Warrants issued by the Hon’ble Court of Special Judge, Vigilance, Keonjhar,” informed Odisha Vigilance in a press statement.

The anti-corruption sleuths further noted that assets worth crores have been unearthed during the simultaneous house searches at multiple locations linked to Nayak on Sunday.

The vigilance officials were taken aback during the search operation when they found that Nayak and his family had 115 landed plots in a single block of Angul district.

As many as 53 plots are owned by Nayak, while his wife has 42 plots in the Chhendipada block of Angul. Similarly, 16 plots have been registered in the name of his two sons, while his daughter owns 4 landed plots.

“Nayak has purchased all the above plots in Chhendipada, Angul during the period from 1992 (since his entering into govt. service as Range Officer) to 2024, while serving in different capacities such as Forest Range Officer, Asst. Conservator Forests Dy. Conservator of Forests and Divisional Forest Officer,” noted the Odisha Vigilance Department.

The Vigilance also revealed that the Registered Sale Deed (RSD) value of the 115 plots is recorded at Rs. 2.5 crore. However, they believe the actual market value could be significantly higher. There are suspicions of undervaluation during the registration process. A detailed investigation has been launched to look into the matter.

Nayak was also found possessing one four-storeyed building in Angul, cash of Rs 1.55 lakh, gold ornaments weighing around 200 grams, beautiful teak wood artefacts, a little armoury containing rifles and bows and arrows, etc.

–IANS