Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance officials on Friday seized suspected ill-gotten cash amounting to ₹2,03,940 from Bhimasen Maharana, a Junior Engineer (JE) of the RD Division, Jaraka, Kuakhia Section, in Jajpur district.
Acting on reliable information about Maharana allegedly collecting a large sum of cash from contractors, Vigilance officials intercepted him on National Highway 16 near the Tangi Toll Gate in Cuttack. At the time, Maharana was traveling from his office to his native village, Bentapurasasan, under Balianta police limits in Khordha district, in his personal Hyundai i-20 car (Registration No. OD-02-T-8814).
During the interception, officials recovered ₹2,03,940 in cash from his possession. As Maharana failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the source of the funds, the cash and his Hyundai i-20 car were seized by the Vigilance team.
Following the seizure, searches are being conducted at three locations linked to Maharana to investigate potential disproportionate assets (DA). Vigilance officials are currently questioning him to ascertain the source of the seized cash.