Patna: Vigilance raid reveals Rs 2.54 crore disproportionate assets amassed by BCD engineer
PATNA: The Vigilance Investigation Agency raided the office and private residence of the engineer of the construction department Madan Kumar in Patna on Friday and unearthed assets worth more than Rs 2.54 crore disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Kumar has been posted as the executive engineer of the Patliputra division of the building construction department in Patna.
The raids were carried out at his engineer’s office near the Bihar Museum and his lavishly decorated and furnished three-storey private residence in Vrindavan Colony, Gola Road in Rupaspur, Patna.
Vigilante sources said they have found 21 plots in Patna Sadar, Danapur and Phulwari and two more in Madhubani that are either in the name of the engineer, his wife Premlata Kumari or his eldest son.
They said that of the 21 deeds of eight plots and two were recovered in Madhubani during Friday’s raid.
“These lots are worth several crores when assessed at market rate. The house, in the wife’s name, is valued at about Rs7-8 crore in the market. However, their deed value is much less on which the DA is calculated,” said one source.
Sources said his eldest son is in second-year engineering student at a South Indian university, while his youngest son is in 9th grade.
They said that Kumar joined PWD as an assistant engineer on May 7, 1997 and his total income is Rs 1.2 crore till now.
“His total income from all sources is Rs 1.74 crore. But he has amassed real estate worth Rs 2.23 crore and movable property worth Rs 1.08 crore according to FIR registered on Oct. 6. Its DA at FIR stage was Rs 2.26 crore, which has risen to Rs 2.54 crore after raid,” said a source.
A total of Rs 13.75 lakh in cash was found in the engineer’s residence during the raid, including Rs 7 lakh in cash, jewelry worth Rs 14 lakh, investment information and 10 bank accounts with heavy deposits. “Rs 6.75 lakh was recovered separately from his almirahs office,” a source said.
“Rs 1 lakh was kept in an almirah which was in a room attached to the engineer’s office room. Rs 5.75 was found in another almirah in the room where Kumar’s cashier Ajay Kumar Pandey sits,” a source said.
They said neither the engineer nor the cashier came to the office to open almirahs and rooms even after repeated calls.
Sources said the engineer made an excuse to be in a meeting and the cashier said he went to Samastipur to vote in the panchayat elections.
“Since the robbery team had search warrants, they broke both almirahs. They also broke the lock on an iron grate and door to gain access to the cashier’s room. What raised doubts is that the cashier left the office with a bunch of keys to almirahs and gates,” a source said.
They said Pandey had not declared his presence for four days and his leave application to go to Samastipur had not been signed by an approving authority either. Sources said the vigilance also seized a letter stating that there was no cash in the office when the engineer took change in July.
Kumar has been posted as the executive engineer of the Patliputra division of the building construction department in Patna.
The raids were carried out at his engineer’s office near the Bihar Museum and his lavishly decorated and furnished three-storey private residence in Vrindavan Colony, Gola Road in Rupaspur, Patna.
Vigilante sources said they have found 21 plots in Patna Sadar, Danapur and Phulwari and two more in Madhubani that are either in the name of the engineer, his wife Premlata Kumari or his eldest son.
They said that of the 21 deeds of eight plots and two were recovered in Madhubani during Friday’s raid.
“These lots are worth several crores when assessed at market rate. The house, in the wife’s name, is valued at about Rs7-8 crore in the market. However, their deed value is much less on which the DA is calculated,” said one source.
Sources said his eldest son is in second-year engineering student at a South Indian university, while his youngest son is in 9th grade.
They said that Kumar joined PWD as an assistant engineer on May 7, 1997 and his total income is Rs 1.2 crore till now.
“His total income from all sources is Rs 1.74 crore. But he has amassed real estate worth Rs 2.23 crore and movable property worth Rs 1.08 crore according to FIR registered on Oct. 6. Its DA at FIR stage was Rs 2.26 crore, which has risen to Rs 2.54 crore after raid,” said a source.
A total of Rs 13.75 lakh in cash was found in the engineer’s residence during the raid, including Rs 7 lakh in cash, jewelry worth Rs 14 lakh, investment information and 10 bank accounts with heavy deposits. “Rs 6.75 lakh was recovered separately from his almirahs office,” a source said.
“Rs 1 lakh was kept in an almirah which was in a room attached to the engineer’s office room. Rs 5.75 was found in another almirah in the room where Kumar’s cashier Ajay Kumar Pandey sits,” a source said.
They said neither the engineer nor the cashier came to the office to open almirahs and rooms even after repeated calls.
Sources said the engineer made an excuse to be in a meeting and the cashier said he went to Samastipur to vote in the panchayat elections.
“Since the robbery team had search warrants, they broke both almirahs. They also broke the lock on an iron grate and door to gain access to the cashier’s room. What raised doubts is that the cashier left the office with a bunch of keys to almirahs and gates,” a source said.
They said Pandey had not declared his presence for four days and his leave application to go to Samastipur had not been signed by an approving authority either. Sources said the vigilance also seized a letter stating that there was no cash in the office when the engineer took change in July.
