Bhubaneswar, November 6: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Thursday conducted simultaneous raids at 11 properties and business establishments linked to former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Rajya Sabha MP Bhaskar Rao and his family members in Rayagada and Bhubaneswar, an EOW official said.

The searches were carried out in connection with allegations of large-scale financial irregularities, criminal misappropriation of funds, extortion and criminal intimidation involving office-bearers of a truck owners' association in Rayagada, officials said.

The EOW registered a case on Thursday following allegations that the prime accused, in connivance with other association office-bearers, had been collecting money from truck owners since 2005 under various pretexts. Some of the collections were reportedly claimed to be contributions towards funding Naxalite activities, according to an EOW statement.

The agency alleged that the association had collected substantial amounts of money without maintaining proper accounts or issuing receipts to truck owners.

Investigators further suspect that the funds collected were misappropriated and diverted to various private business ventures, including logistics, trading, mining and real estate.

Bhaskar Rao is a prominent political figure from Rayagada. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha on a BJD ticket in 2016 and also served as the deputy chairman of the Odisha State Planning Board.