Assets Worth Rs 5 cr Unearthed from Ex-Constable in Odisha

Bhubaneswar:  The vigilance department of Odisha has unearthed disproportionate assets worth over Rs 5 crore from ex-constable Prasanna Kumar Behera and further search is on, officials said on Thursday.

On the allegation of possession of assets disproportionate to the known sources of income, vigilance teams conducted simultaneous raids on the properties of Behera, at five places on Thursday.

During the raid, the anti-corruption wing of the Odisha government, so far, found that Behera owns Spark Furniture showroom at Dumduma in Bhubaneswar whose land value is Rs 1.47 crore while the cost of furniture showroom would be over Rs 2 crore.

One plot worth Rs 45 lakh, a flat in the name of his spouse worth Rs 24 lakh, insurance deposits over Rs 50 lakh, 4 four-wheelers, 2 two wheelers and 21 bank passbooks have been unearthed during the house search so far, the vigilance said.

Further, the vigilance has deputed its technical, finance and forest wing personnel for valuation of buildings, and a huge number of costly furniture items displayed in the furniture showroom.

The vigilance has also found that Behera has unauthorizedly extended his government quarter at Kalpana Square in Bhubaneswar by construction of 8 more rooms.

Behera was first suspended for his involvement in running a bar at Hotel South City in Patrapada here, illegally. The offense came to the fore after the murder of Manish Anurag, son of senior journalist Navin Das. Later, he was dismissed from the service following his arrest.

(IANS)