Techie started on Rs 6k a month. Vigilance finds Rs 2 crore, 5 buildings, 13 plots
Odisha Vigilance raided nine locations linked to ITDA engineer Baikuntha Nath Behera and his family. The searches allegedly uncovered cash, properties and land holdings now under verification.
A government engineer who joined service nearly 25 years ago on a monthly salary of around Rs 6,000 is now at the centre of a sprawling disproportionate assets probe after Odisha Vigilance officials allegedly found close to Rs 2 crore stashed inside two bank lockers and traced a property trail spanning five buildings and 13 plots of land across the state.
The startling discoveries emerged during simultaneous raids at nine locations linked to Baikuntha Nath Behera, an Assistant Executive Engineer posted with the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) in Odisha's Kandhamal district. Investigators are now attempting to determine how an official who currently draws a salary of about Rs 80,000 a month amassed assets that they suspect are far beyond his known sources of income.
Acting on allegations of disproportionate assets, Vigilance teams fanned out across Odisha on Friday, searching homes, offices and premises linked to Behera and his family members after securing warrants from the Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar.
But it was what officials allegedly found inside two bank lockers in Bhubaneswar that turned the operation into one of the most significant vigilance investigations in the state in recent years.
According to Vigilance officials, the lockers, held in the name of Behera's wife at Axis Bank and Union Bank of India branches in Chandrasekharpur, contained nearly Rs 2 crore in cash. The money was still being counted using currency-counting machines as the investigation continued.
THAT WAS ONLY PART OF THE HAUL
Search teams also recovered more than Rs 2.66 lakh in cash from different premises and seized gold ornaments whose value is yet to be determined. At the same time, investigators uncovered a network of properties allegedly linked to the engineer and his family, including a sprawling four-storey building spread across around 10,500 square feet in Bhubaneswar's Niladri Vihar.
Four other buildings were also detected - a three-storey property at Sailashree Vihar, two-storey houses at Kanan Vihar and Chandrasekharpur, and another residential property built on ancestral land in Dharmasala.
The land holdings were no less striking.
Officials traced 13 plots allegedly owned by Behera and his family members. Seven are located in different parts of Bhubaneswar, five in Dharmasala in Jajpur district and one in Baripada. The plots are spread across areas including Niladri Vihar, Sailashree Vihar, Govindprasad, Bomikhal, Ghatikia and Jatni.
The searches covered residences in Bhubaneswar, Baripada, Dharmasala and Baliguda, including Behera's office chamber and government quarters.
JUST AN ENGINEER
According to official records, Behera joined government service as a Junior Engineer on August 16, 1999. During his career, he served in Nabarangpur, Udala, Kusumguda and Dabugam before being promoted to Assistant Engineer in 2016. He was elevated to Assistant Executive Engineer in February 2026 and posted to ITDA, Baliguda.
Vigilance SP Sisant Kumar Biswal said the investigation remains underway and the final value of the assets has not yet been determined.
"Following the searches, we have detected five houses, 13 plots of land, gold ornaments, cash, and approximately Rs 2 crore deposited in bank lockers. The raids are still underway. The valuation of the buildings is currently being carried out, and reports from various banks are yet to be received," Biswal said.
With property valuations pending, bank records still under scrutiny and gold yet to be assessed, officials believe the true scale of the assets linked to the engineer may only become clear once the investigation is completed.
A government engineer who joined service nearly 25 years ago on a monthly salary of around Rs 6,000 is now at the centre of a sprawling disproportionate assets probe after Odisha Vigilance officials allegedly found close to Rs 2 crore stashed inside two bank lockers and traced a property trail spanning five buildings and 13 plots of land across the state.
The startling discoveries emerged during simultaneous raids at nine locations linked to Baikuntha Nath Behera, an Assistant Executive Engineer posted with the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) in Odisha's Kandhamal district. Investigators are now attempting to determine how an official who currently draws a salary of about Rs 80,000 a month amassed assets that they suspect are far beyond his known sources of income.
Acting on allegations of disproportionate assets, Vigilance teams fanned out across Odisha on Friday, searching homes, offices and premises linked to Behera and his family members after securing warrants from the Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar.
But it was what officials allegedly found inside two bank lockers in Bhubaneswar that turned the operation into one of the most significant vigilance investigations in the state in recent years.
According to Vigilance officials, the lockers, held in the name of Behera's wife at Axis Bank and Union Bank of India branches in Chandrasekharpur, contained nearly Rs 2 crore in cash. The money was still being counted using currency-counting machines as the investigation continued.
THAT WAS ONLY PART OF THE HAUL
Search teams also recovered more than Rs 2.66 lakh in cash from different premises and seized gold ornaments whose value is yet to be determined. At the same time, investigators uncovered a network of properties allegedly linked to the engineer and his family, including a sprawling four-storey building spread across around 10,500 square feet in Bhubaneswar's Niladri Vihar.
Four other buildings were also detected - a three-storey property at Sailashree Vihar, two-storey houses at Kanan Vihar and Chandrasekharpur, and another residential property built on ancestral land in Dharmasala.
The land holdings were no less striking.
Officials traced 13 plots allegedly owned by Behera and his family members. Seven are located in different parts of Bhubaneswar, five in Dharmasala in Jajpur district and one in Baripada. The plots are spread across areas including Niladri Vihar, Sailashree Vihar, Govindprasad, Bomikhal, Ghatikia and Jatni.
The searches covered residences in Bhubaneswar, Baripada, Dharmasala and Baliguda, including Behera's office chamber and government quarters.
JUST AN ENGINEER
According to official records, Behera joined government service as a Junior Engineer on August 16, 1999. During his career, he served in Nabarangpur, Udala, Kusumguda and Dabugam before being promoted to Assistant Engineer in 2016. He was elevated to Assistant Executive Engineer in February 2026 and posted to ITDA, Baliguda.
Vigilance SP Sisant Kumar Biswal said the investigation remains underway and the final value of the assets has not yet been determined.
"Following the searches, we have detected five houses, 13 plots of land, gold ornaments, cash, and approximately Rs 2 crore deposited in bank lockers. The raids are still underway. The valuation of the buildings is currently being carried out, and reports from various banks are yet to be received," Biswal said.
With property valuations pending, bank records still under scrutiny and gold yet to be assessed, officials believe the true scale of the assets linked to the engineer may only become clear once the investigation is completed.
