Odisha Vigilance conducted simultaneous searches at nine locations linked to an assistant executive engineer (AEE) of the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Baliguda in Kandhamal district. The engineer, Baikuntha Nath Behera, is under scrutiny for allegedly accumulating assets exceeding his known income sources during his service tenure. The searches, authorized by the Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar, involved a team of officers raiding various places in Bhubaneswar, Baripada, Dharmasala, and Baliguda.
The properties under investigation include four residential buildings in Bhubaneswar, comprising a four-storey house at Niladri Vihar, a three-storey building at Sailashree Vihar, and two double-storey houses at Kanan Vihar and Chandrasekharpur. Additionally, a double-storey ancestral house at Pandua near Dharmasala College in Jajpur district is also being examined. The searches have extended to the residences of two relatives of Behera in Baripada and Pandua, along with his office chamber at the ITDA office in Baliguda and his official residence nearby.
Vigilance officials are scrutinizing documents related to movable and immovable assets, financial transactions, investments, and other records to determine if the engineer possessed wealth disproportionate to his lawful earnings. The ongoing searches aim to ascertain the exact value of the assets detected, with the process ongoing until completion. This operation is part of a series of Vigilance actions against public servants in Odisha, with recent raids in Kalahandi district revealing significant assets linked to another assistant executive engineer.
