Junior irrigation engineer arrested in Odisha

Berhampur (Odisha), July 7: Anti-corruption vigilance sleuths arrested a junior engineer in the irrigation department from G.Udayagiri in Odisha's Kandhamal district for allegedly taking bribe of Rs 25,000 from a contractor to prepare his bill.

The junior engineer, identified as Pratap Kumar Singh, was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe money at his residential quarter yesterday, Vigilance SP (Berhampur) Manoranjan Panda said. "We have recovered the money and searched the house," Panda said.

Meanwhile, the vigilance sleuths on Tuesday detected over Rs 1.26-crore movable and immovable properties of J. Sanjeev Rao Prusty, an assistant engineer at the public works department, Chhatrapur section in Ganjam district.

"The anti-corruption sleuths raided several residences of Prusty in Bhanjanagara, Berhampur, Dumduma in Bhubaneswar and his office in Chhatrapur. After calculation of his income, we will evaluate the ill-gotten money," said Panda.

During the search, vigilance personnel found a triple storied building in the name of his wife Kabita Patra at Braja Nagara, valued at Rs 50.54 lakh, a duplex building (Bhubaneswar) worth over Rs 13.40 lakh, eight plots at different places in Berhampur and Bhubaneswar (Rs 2.53 lakh), household articles (over Rs 6.23 lakh), investments in different insurance companies (Rs 23.25-lakh) and fixed deposits in various banks (Rs 12.35 lakh).

Police have also found gold and silver ornaments worth Rs 10.53 lakh, three two-wheelers and a car from Prusty's possession. Prusty joined as a junior engineer in 1991, before being elevated as the assistant engineer in 2015, sources said.

PTI