Odisha vigilance department nabs govt engineer with over 83 acres of landholding

A government engineer in Odisha was arrested after failing to justify his substantial assets, including multiple buildings and land parcels, which were deemed disproportionate to his income.

The Odisha Vigilance Department arrested a government engineer on Wednesday, a day after unearthing 97 land parcels, five buildings, two farmhouses, a market complex and other assets that were disproportionate to his known source of income, officials said.

Bhubaneswar Sabar, the executive engineer of the roads and buildings division, was arrested after he failed to satisfactorily justify his assets with regard to his income, an officer of the vigilance department said.

During the raids conducted on Tuesday, the engineer was found in possession of five buildings, including four multi-storey ones, 97 plots totalling 83 acres, two farm houses of 17 acres, a market complex with eight cabins, among others, the officer said.

Apart from these, deposits worth Rs 10.72 lakh, a four-wheeler along with cash and household articles worth around Rs 19.78 lakh were also seized, he said.

A case has been registered against the engineer under the Prevention of Corruption Act.