Bhubaneswar, July 30: Odisha Vigilance on Tuesday arrested Joint Commissioner of Excise Rama Chandra Mishra on the charges of amassing disproportionate assets.
On the basis of a case registered under different sections of the Prevention of Corruption(Amendment) Act 2018, Mishra was remanded to Judicial custody as he could not substantiate the assets with respect to the established sources of his income.
Earlier, Properties worth crores of rupees were unearthed reportedly possessed by a senior official of the excise department during simultaneous raids at different places across Odisha on Monday, a senior Vigilance department official said.
The raids were conducted on the allegation of possession of assets disproportionate to the known sources of income of Rama Chandra Mishra, Joint Commissioner of Excise, Bhubaneswar.
The Vigilance sleuths had launched simultaneous house searches at 10 places including Bhubaneswar, Subarnapur, Balangir and Bargarh, said the official.
"Ten teams of the Odisha Vigilance comprising 10 DSPs, 15 Inspectors and other supporting staff are conducting the search following the search warrants issued by the Court of Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar. The places where searches were carried out include his native house at Tarbha in Subarnapur district, the office room at IPICOL House at Rupali Square and rental accommodation in Khandagiri area of Bhubaneswar etc." added the official.
The raids have so far unearthed six multi-storey buildings including two in Bhubaneswar, two flats in Bhubaneswar and Bargarh, one non-operational Rice Mill at Tarbha in Subarnapur, one farmhouse, 52 plots including two in Sambalpur, three in Balangir, 47 in Subarnapur districts, deposits in bank worth Rs 22 lakh, gold ornaments weighing around 230 gm and silver about 317 gm, cash, three 2-wheelers and household articles worth over Rs 11.25 lakh.
