Highest cash seizure by Odisha Vigilance: Corrupt Assistant Engineer’s 2nd wife arrested

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance today arrested second wife of corrupt Assistant Engineer Kartikeswar Roul in connection with a DA case.

Kalpana Pradhan, the second wife of Bhanjanagar Minor Irrigation Assistant Engineer Kartikeswar Roul, was arrested after seizure of Rs 1.4 crore unaccounted cash belonging to her husband from her sister’s house at a slum in Bhubaneswar today morning.

She was arrested in a Vigilance case dated April 7 for actively abetting the offence of Kartikeswar Roul under the PC Act and for concealing the ill-gotten money acquired by her husband through corrupt practices, Odisha Vigilance stated in a release today.

The accused was forwarded to the Court of Special Judge Vigilance, Bhubaneswar.

Based on confession of Kalpana Pradhan, a team of Vigilance sleuths searched at one-room house of her sister at Salia Sahi in Bhubaneswar and recovered Rs 1,41,62,400 cash belonging to Roul.

Also Read: Assistant Engineer arrested in DA case; Odisha Vigilance recovers Rs 1.4 crore cash from kin

With this, the total cash seizure increased to Rs 3,41,66,280, which is the highest ever cash seizure by Odisha Vigilance in a DA case.

The Vigilance also seized Rs 360 gram gold and 1004 gram silver ornaments. The officials also recovered property documents indicating purchase of a Triplex bungalow by Roul from the Keshari Estate Pvt Ltd at Pokhariput in Bhubaneswar on cash payment of Rs 78.50 lakh.

The corrupt engineer has been arrested by Odisha Vigilance on charged of acquiring wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income. The anti-corruption agency is interrogating his relatives including nephew in connection with the case.

Also Read: Highest cash seizure by Odisha Vigilance: Asst Engineer arrested in DA case

Earlier, the vigilance sleuths had seized assets worth over Rs 2.76 crore, including 2 flats and one double storeyed building in Bhubaneswar, bank and insurance deposits worth around Rs 37.23 lakh, 7 plots including 2 plots in prime areas in Bhubaneswar.

On the first day of search on April 6, the anti-corruption agency had recovered Rs 2,50,880 cash from possession of tainted Assistant Engineer. On the second day of house search, Rs 2.50 crore cash was seized from the house of Roul and his wife in Bhubaneswar.