Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance on Sunday arrested Anupama Sahoo, assistant executive engineer (AEE) of the Drainage Division in Kendrapada, after she was intercepted with Rs 3.15 lakh in suspected ill-gotten cash. Another Rs 4 lakh was recovered during a subsequent search of her residence.
According to an official press release, Sahoo was intercepted by a Vigilance team at Marshaghai Crossing on NH-53A on Saturday while she was travelling to her residence at Nayanvihar in Kendrapada from her office in an official Mahindra Bolero bearing registration number OD-29-S-6644.
During the interception, officials found Rs 3.15 lakh in cash in Sahoo’s possession. She allegedly failed to satisfactorily account for the source of the money, following which the cash and the vehicle were seized.
The interception was followed by simultaneous searches of Sahoo’s residential building at Nayanvihar and her office chamber in Kendrapada.
During the search of her residence, Vigilance officials recovered another Rs 4 lakh in cash. With this, the total cash seized from Sahoo stood at Rs 7.15 lakh, officials said.
The searches also led to the detection of several movable and immovable assets allegedly held in Sahoo’s name. These included deposits of around Rs 63 lakh, a flat in Bhubaneswar, an MS rod and cement godown at a market complex in Kamakshyanagar in Dhenkanal district, and a shop in Balangir.
Vigilance officials also detected five plots, including one on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, three in Anugola and one in Dhenkanal.
Sahoo was arrested on Sunday and forwarded to the Special Judge, Vigilance, Kataka.
In connection with the case, Kataka Vigilance Police Station registered Case No. 35 dated September 5, 2026, under Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(b) of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.
Sahoo joined government service as a junior engineer (JE) on October 21, 2003, under the Anugola Irrigation Division, with an initial monthly salary of Rs 4,000. Her service was regularised in 2009.
She was promoted to assistant engineer on December 31, 2016, and posted at the Dhenkanal Design and Monitoring Unit, Rengali Right Canal.
On August 12, 2025, she was promoted to assistant executive engineer. She was later transferred to the Drainage Division, Kendrapada, on March 2, 2026, where she has been serving as an AEE.
The investigation into the case is underway.
