Bhubaneswar: Vigilance officials on Wednesday carried out extensive searches at properties linked to an additional chief engineer (irrigation), following allegations that he possessed disproportionate assets.During searches at multiple locations, including the 58-year-old’s Bhubaneswar residence, officials recovered cash stashed in envelopes labelled with project and agreement references — suggesting a systematic practice of suspected bribe collection.“We detected his palatial three-storey building on 3,000 sqft at Baramunda Housing Board colony here. He also owns a sprawling farmhouse with a double-storey building at Bhapur in Dhenkanal district. Five valuable plots — one in Bhubaneswar and four in Dhenkanal — have been unearthed. Measurement and valuation of these assets are underway,” a senior vigilance officer said.The anti-corruption authorities recovered around Rs 6 lakh in cash along with deposits of Rs 1.7 crore in the names of the govt official and his family members. Flight tickets worth Rs 13.47 lakh, reflecting domestic travel expenses between 2021 and 2025, are also under scrutiny.The official joined govt service on June 2, 1994, as a stipendiary engineer under Odisha Housing Board on a monthly salary of Rs 2,000. He rose through the ranks, becoming superintending engineer, and in July 2021 was promoted to additional chief engineer.
