Bhubaneswar, Aug 23: Vigilance officials on Friday arrested Bibhudananda Mishra, the Forest Range Officer of the Dhenkanal range, in connection with a disproportionate assets case. The case was registered after a raid revealed that Mishra possessed assets vastly exceeding his known sources of income.
Among the assets discovered were a high-value flat in Bhubaneswar, two flats in Hyderabad, and eight plots of land in Bhubaneswar and Dhenkanal. Additionally, the Vigilance Department uncovered a farmhouse with civil constructions valued at approximately Rs 2 crore, bank deposits exceeding Rs 1 crore, cash amounting to Rs 5.15 lakh, 557 grams of gold, and two four-wheelers.
Mishra is also facing legal action under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, for illegally keeping Indian Peafowls. The Wildlife case was instituted against Mishra after four peafowls were found at his farmhouse in Rahangol, Athagarh, Cuttack, which constitutes a violation of Sections 9 and 39 of the Wildlife Protection Act, punishable under Section 51 of the same Act. The four peafowls have since been seized and handed over to the local Forest Department for safekeeping.
