Bhubaneswar: In a major development in the disproportionate assets (DA) case, the Odisha Vigilance has recovered a total of 1.255 kg of gold from the bank lockers of Baikuntha Nath Behera, Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) of ITDA, Baliguda in Kandhamal district.
On Monday, during the ongoing searches following his arrest, Vigilance officials opened the fifth bank locker and recovered 703 grams of gold jewellery and 375 grams of silver jewellery. With this fresh recovery, the total quantity of gold seized from Behera has gone up to 1.255 kg.
Behera was arrested on Sunday by the Odisha Vigilance Department after raids on his properties revealed huge undeclared assets that he could not explain satisfactorily.
According to Vigilance sources, Behera owns five multi-storeyed buildings with a combined built-up area of over 20,000 square feet — including four luxurious buildings in Bhubaneswar. He also possesses 14 high-value plots, cash amounting to more than Rs 2.04 crore, and bank deposits worth Rs 45 lakh.
This is one of the notable disproportionate assets cases registered by the Odisha Vigilance against a government engineer in recent times.
