Vigilance team of Odisha raided the house of an engineer on charges of disproportionate assets. Surprisingly, the engineer used to earn only Rs 6 thousand every month. But the amount of cash found in his account is in crores. This action has been taken against Assistant Executive Engineer Baikunth Nath Behera working in Baliguda of Kandhamal district. About Rs 2 crore cash has been recovered from the bank lockers of his family. Search was conducted at 9 places in Bhubaneswar, Balasore, Jajpur and Baliguda. Many luxury properties, expensive lands and other assets have come to light. The operation is still going on.
Odisha Vigilance has taken action against Baikunth Nath Behera on charges of possessing disproportionate assets. After obtaining a warrant from the Special Vigilance Court of Bhubaneswar, the Vigilance team raided several places simultaneously. This team included Additional SP, Deputy SP, Inspector and other officers. Here, raids were conducted at his official residence and office chamber at Chandrashekharpur, Shailashree Vihar and Kanan Vihar in Bhubaneswar, Dharamshala Baripada, Baliguda in Jajpur district.
2 Crore cash stashed in Bank lockers, 5 Multi-Storey bldgs (4 in #Bhubaneswar) (17850 Sqft),13 Plots (7 in BBSR), etc. unearthed so far during searches on Sri Baikuntha Nath Behera, Asst Executive Engr, #ITDABaliguda, #Kandhamal. He joined service in 1999 as JE @ Rs 6000/- pm. pic.twitter.com/I80zkPtVJm
— Odisha Vigilance (@OdishaVigilance) June 6, 2026
During the operation, vigilance officials identified five multi-storey buildings belonging to the engineer and his family members. These also include a four-storey building spread over approximately 10,500 square feet in Neeladri Vihar, Bhubaneswar. The investigating officers have also located four other residential properties in Bhubaneswar and Jajpur districts. Officials have also identified 13 pieces of land. These include seven plots in prime locations of Bhubaneswar and many other plots in Jajpur and Baripada.
An important turning point in the investigation came when around Rs 2 crore in cash was recovered from bank lockers said to be belonging to the family. Earlier, more than Rs 2.66 lakh in cash was seized during the search of the house. The work of valuation of gold jewellery, bank deposits, postal savings, investments and other financial assets is still going on. Technical experts are also investigating the market value of the property and land. According to government records, Baikunth Nath Behera joined the government service as a junior engineer in 1999, when his monthly salary was around Rs 6,000. During this period, he served in many tribal development agencies and engineering related works. Earlier this year, he was promoted to the post of Assistant Executive Engineer.
