On what was to be his retirement day, Baikuntha Nath Sarangi, a chief engineer in Odisha's Rural Development Department, found himself in the custody of the state's Vigilance officials. The arrest followed a massive raid on properties linked to Sarangi, which revealed assets worth over ₹15 crore, a figure that officials say is 483% more than his known sources of income.
The dramatic series of events began a day before Sarangi's scheduled retirement. Acting on reliable information, the Vigilance Directorate conducted simultaneous searches at seven locations in Angul, Bhubaneswar, and Pipili connected to Sarangi. The searches were initiated based on allegations that Sarangi possessed assets disproportionate to his known income.
As Vigilance officials approached his residence in Bhubaneswar, Sarangi was caught attempting to dispose of bundles of ₹500 notes by throwing them out of the window. Vigilance director Yeshwant Kumar Jethwa confirmed that all the cash was recovered according to standard operating procedures, and an investigation was initiated.
The searches uncovered a substantial amount of unaccounted wealth. Officials seized ₹2.56 crore in cash, including ₹1.34 crore found in his wife's name. In addition to the cash, authorities discovered two multi-story buildings, two flats (one in Bhubaneswar and another in Puri), seven high-value plots on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar and Angul, bank deposits of ₹1.5 crore, and investments of ₹2.7 crore in shares and mutual funds. The Vigilance team also seized over 1.1 kg of gold and 15 imported wristwatches.
A Vigilance officer stated that Sarangi was found to be in possession of disproportionate assets which were 483% more than his known sources of income. He has been booked under sections 13(2), 13(1)(b) and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.
Sarangi's career in government service began in 1991 as a stipendiary engineer with a monthly salary of ₹2,000. He was promoted to chief engineer in February of this year. The rapid accumulation of wealth during his career raised suspicion, leading to the Vigilance investigation.
The arrest has sent a strong message against corruption in government service. The recovery of such a large sum of unaccounted cash is considered the third biggest seizure by the Odisha Vigilance.
In a related development, Vigilance sleuths also conducted searches at multiple locations connected to N Dillip Kumar Choudhury, an assistant executive engineer in Berhampur and Bhubaneswar, for allegedly possessing disproportionate assets.
