Odisha peon found with Rs.70 lakh illegal property

Searches at the homes and offices of a peon and his family in Odisha have revealed that he had amassed property worth over Rs.70 lakh, an official said Thursday.

The anti-corruption wing of the state government had Wednesday searched the residential and parental houses of Prahallad Swain, a peon with the Board of Revenue Court, in Bhubaneswar and Dimbisara village in Nayagarh district.

His office and a photocopy shop run by his son in the premises of a court in Bhubaneswar were also searched, a senior vigilance official told IANS.

“We found that he has illegally amassed properties to the tune of over Rs.70 lakh,” the official added.

Swain, who has been working with the Board of Revenue Court here on a monthly remuneration of about Rs.9,000 for past three months, had been earlier employed in the tehsil office here for 20 years.

He owns a three-storey building in Bhubaneswar worth Rs.45 lakh, the official said. Gold jewellery, costly furniture and fixed deposits were also recovered, he said.