Vigilance finds 84 acres acquired by govt official
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Bhubaneswar/Koraput: The state vigilance directorate on Monday discovered 84 acres of land, allegedly acquired through corrupt means by a govt official, Dayanidhi Bagh, at different places in the state.
The anti-corruption wing's official statement confirms this "as the largest land detection" in a disproportionate assets (DA) case in vigilance history.
The vigilance technical wing is currently assessing these properties' value. On Monday, several teams conducted property searches linked to Bagh in Bhubaneswar, Nabarangpur and Kalahandi, investigating claims of substantial illegal asset accumulation.
"The record 84 acre land findings include a farmhouse spanning 40 acres in Bijraguda, Nabarangpur, equipped with drip irrigation and farming equipment investment worth Rs 1 crore.
Additionally, a six-acre farmhouse in Phatakote, Nabarangpur, also featuring drip irrigation, was discovered," a senior vigilance official said.
Investigators also located 27 acres in Nabarangpur district and 11 acres near Bhabanipatna in Kalahandi district.
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Vigilance sources indicate that the previous record holder was Pravas Kumar Pradhan, former chief construction engineer of Anandpur barrage project in Keonjhar. In Aug 2024, the vigilance officials arrested him for owning 105 plots (85 in Odisha, 20 in West Bengal), totalling about 15 acres.
The investigation revealed Bagh and his family owned two multi-storey buildings, one 3-BHK flat in Bhubaneswar, 312 grams of gold, Rs 58 lakh in bank/insurance deposits, and an undisclosed car. This investigation stems from an earlier case where four watershed office officials in Rayagada were arrested on May 22 for allegedly misappropriating over Rs 20 lakh allocated for 23 farm ponds under the MGNREGS scheme in Kashipur block.
"As Bagh was the Watershed project director at that time in Rayagada district, he came under the vigilance scanner," read the vigilance statement. Bagh has been detained for questioning.
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