Bhubaneswar, October 9 (Daily Kiran) : Odisha’s Vigilance department conducted simultaneous raids on Friday at the residences of a senior official in the Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment Department. The operation revealed assets worth millions of rupees, leading to allegations of the official possessing wealth beyond known sources of income.
The official, Prasanna Kumar Patra, who serves as the Deputy Director of Soil Conservation and Project Director of Watershed in Sundargarh district, came under scrutiny following complaints regarding his disproportionate assets. Based on a search warrant issued by a Special Vigilance Judge in Sundargarh, eight teams from the Vigilance department targeted eight locations linked to Patra across Bhubaneswar, Sundargarh, and Cuttack. The teams were led by an Additional Superintendent of Police and included four Deputy Superintendents of Police, 13 inspectors, five Assistant Sub-Inspectors, and other staff members.
During the searches, officials discovered four two-story houses, a three-bedroom flat in Bhubaneswar, and seven valuable land parcels associated with Patra and his family. Although the registered sale value of these properties is around one crore rupees, the Vigilance department suspects that their actual market value could be significantly higher.
The technical department of Vigilance is currently measuring, evaluating, and assessing the buildings, flats, and land parcels. Additionally, investigators seized 212 grams of gold, approximately 130,000 rupees in cash, nearly 1.46 crore rupees in deposits, three two-wheelers, and household items valued at 772,000 rupees.
The investigation also revealed that Patra had made an advance payment of 2.95 million rupees to a real estate company for purchasing a flat in Bhubaneswar. Vigilance officials believe that the search operation is ongoing, and further assets may yet be uncovered.
Prasanna Kumar Patra began his government service on December 19, 1995, as a Junior Soil Conservation Officer at the Soil Conservation Directorate in Bhubaneswar. He was promoted to Deputy Director of Soil Conservation in 2024, serving in Kandhamal from August 2024 to April 2025. Since April 2025, he has held the position of Deputy Director of Soil Conservation at the Watershed Project Directorate in Sundargarh.
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