Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance officials arrested the forest range officer of Ujjalpur Forest Range in Sundargarh district late on Thursday night on charges of accumulating wealth in excess value of his known sources of income.
According to reports, the Vigilance sleuths arrested the accused Sangram Keshari Manihira and forwarded him to the Court of Special Judge, Vigilance, Sundargarh, for possessing disproportionate assets.
The court sent Manihira to jail custody till January 25. Earlier, a case was registered against the accused and his spouse under Section 13(2) r/w 13(1)(b) /12 Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.
During the raids conducted at the premises linked to Manihira, Vigilance department sleuths unearthed several movable and immovable assets that were registered in the name of Manihira and his family members. The seized assets include two triple-storeyed buildings at Burla town in Sambalpur, five plots in the prime area of Sambalpur, one asbestos building in Burla town, cash worth Rs 1,57,700, bank and insurance deposits worth over Rs 37.99 lakh, gold jewellery weighing 371 grams and silver ornaments worth over Rs 15.78 lakh, a four wheeler (Maruti Ritz), three motorcycles and household articles worth over Rs 14.30 lakh.
After the income, expenditure and assets of Manihira were calculated, it was found that he possessed disproportionate assets over 188% higher than his known sources of income.
