Bhubaneswar, (Reporterspen), Nov 28: Odisha Vigilance on Thursday arrested Padmanav Hota, a junior mining officer from Keonjhar, for allegedly accumulating assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
According to a Vigilance press release, Hota was found to possess significant disproportionate assets, which included three multi-storey buildings, among them a four-storey structure spanning over 5,800 square feet in Bhubaneswar, as well as two benami flats, 14 plots, and a farmhouse covering more than five acres with civil constructions. The total value of these assets is estimated to be around ₹70 lakh, alongside bank deposits amounting to ₹53 lakh, ₹1 lakh in cash, and 300 grams of gold, for which he could not provide satisfactory explanations.
The assets were discovered during simultaneous searches at seven locations the previous day. These included a double-storey building of over 10,000 square feet in Jagannathpur, Keonjhar, another building in Jamadeipur Sasan, Jajpur district, and the farmhouse in Madanpur, Keonjhar. Additionally, the searches revealed 14 plots—four in prime areas of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack and ten in Danagadi, Jajpur, along with a four-wheeler, two two-wheelers, and household articles valued at approximately ₹12 lakh.
Seven teams, consisting of 7 DSPs, 5 inspectors, 8 ASIs, and other support staff, conducted the raids under search warrants issued by the Court of Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar.
