Bhubaneswar: A team of the CBI, that had raided the official residence of IAS officer Bishnupada Sethi in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday in connection with a bribery case, left the bureaucrat's house last night with some documents, reports said.

The search reportedly continued for around 16 hours, during which Sethi was questioned by the CBI officers.

On the other hand, Sethi's lawyer said the CBI has not found any evidence against him.

"My client has no connection with the allegations. The CBI has not found any evidence against him. A senior IAS officer is being unnecessarily harassed. There is no justification for harassing him without any proof," the lawyer said.

The case pertains to the Rs 10 lakh bribery case related to the Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited, a central public sector undertaking headquartered in Kolkata.

Sethi has claimed innocence in the case saying, "No FIR was filed against me. I don't know anything about the raid. I have no connection with Chanchal Mukherjee (an accused in the case). I haven't received any favour from the Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited. Chanchal Mukherjee had unrestricted access to the State Secretariat as he had earlier worked in various departments of the State Government."

The bureaucrat also alleged that he and his family members were harassed by the members of the CBI team during the raid. He accused the CBI team of conducting the raids without any warrant or in the presence of women officers.

Later, a purported resignation letter from Sethi also surfaced. He is currently posted as an officer on special duty (OSD) in the General Administration and Public Grievance Department of the Odisha Government.

Notably, the CBI had in December served a notice to Sethi in connection with the case.

The central agency has already arrested Chanchal Mukherjee, group general manager of the Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited, after registering a case against him.

Mukherjee was arrested near a star hotel in Jayadev Vihar on December 7 evening while allegedly taking bribe from the director of Bhubaneswar-based Penta A Studio Private Ltd, Santosh Moharana, and a middle-man namely Debadutta Mohapatra.