Bhubaneswar, Dec 6 2024-
The Odisha Vigilance on Friday unearthed huge assets worth crores during simultaneous house searches at different places linked to a senior officer of the state forest department.
“On the allegation of possession of assets disproportionate to the known sources of income, simultaneous house searches were conducted on the properties of Rebati Raman Joshi, Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF), Hirakud WildLife Division, Sambalpur at nine places in Sambalpur and Bargarh districts on Friday,” said a Vigilance official.
The places where searches were conducted include Joshi’s paternal house in Bijepur area of Bargarh district, his official government quarter and office chamber at Sambalpur, etc. Nine teams of Odisha vigilance comprising three Deputy Superintendent of Police ten inspectors and other supporting staff were involved in the searches carried out on the Friday.
The sleuths have so far found Joshi and his family members in possession of one triple-storeyed building at Ainthapali in Sambalpur worth over Rs 1.80 crore, two buildings including a commercial one in Sambalpur, four high valued flats, seven plots of which four in prime areas of Sambalpur town and three in Padampur area of Bargarh district.
The vigilance sources also said that the measurement and valuation of the above buildings, flats and the plots are being carried out by the Vigilance Technical Wing.
This apart, the cops also found cash of Rs 14,71,200, Gold jewellery weighing 150 gms and silver ornaments weighing 300 gms, deposits in Bank accounts and Insurance policies worth Rs 31,31,849, one 2-wheeler and household articles valued at Rs 9.13 lakhs.
The vigilance officials have reportedly been questioning ACF Joshi to ascertain the source of the assets.
As per reports, the state vigilance has registered as many as 90 cases against public servants in the past five months between June 1, 2024, and October 31, 2024.
The vigilance department has registered a maximum 20 cases against officials from the Revenue Department while as many as 18 officials of the Panchayati Raj Department have fallen into the vigilance net during the above period. (Agency)
