Vig raids find 5 buildings, 13 plots & Rs 2L cash of ITDA engr

Berhampur: Vigilance sleuths on Saturday detected five multi-storeyed buildings, 13 high-value plots in Bhubaneswar, Rs 2 crore in his bank locker and over Rs 2.66 lakh in cash from the assistant executive engineer of Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Baliguda, in Kandhamal district. Counting of the locker amount was on till last reports came in.Sources said the properties of Baikuntha Nath Behera, 52, are likely to increase, as the anti-corruption agency continued the search for his ill-gotten properties at nine different places. During the search, they found four palatial houses in different prime locations of Bhubaneswar, while a 2,500-sq-ft double-storeyed building was detected at Pandua, Dharmasala, in Jajpur district. Of the detected high-valued plots, seven were found in Bhubaneswar, five plots in Dharmasala in Jajpur district, and one in Baripada.The vigilance technical wing is carrying out the measurement and valuation of the detected buildings and plots, sources said. During the raids, anti-corruption agency personnel also seized cash of Rs 2,66,400 from the accused, a huge amount of gold and silver ornaments, two lockers in different banks and bank deposits, which are under calculation. The exact value of his ill-gotten properties would be known only after estimation, sources said.The simultaneous search was carried out by pressing into service two additional SPs, five DSPs, six inspectors and other supporting staff. Behera joined govt service on Aug 16, 1999, as junior engineer (civil) in Nabarangpur district at a monthly salary of Rs 6,000. On Feb 12, he was promoted to the rank of assistant executive engineer and posted at ITDA, Baliguda, in Kandhamal district. He has continued there so far.