Nabarangpur netizens celebrate Vigilance raids on 'corrupt' Addl. Sub-Collector's houses

Bhubaneswar: Locals in Nabarangpour set off fireworks and handed out candy to commemorate the Vigilance raid on district Additional Sub-Collector Prashanta Kumar Rout, during which assets worth crores of rupees were discovered, including a multi-story building, five plots, Rs 3.02 crore in cash, bank and insurance deposits totaling over Rs 62 lakh (Rs 21 lakh in Benami account), and two four-wheelers.

They were overjoyed at the action taken against a corrupt officer. "It feels like I've escaped Ravana's clutches." "Rout's main job was to swindle money," a local said.

The anti-corruption unit had to look in the most unlikely places for the hidden cash. Rout's wife is said to have thrown six cartons containing cash onto a neighbor's terrace and then phoned them, phoned them, phoned them, requesting that they hide those. His family also made the officers wait for more than 20 minutes before allowing them to enter the Kanan Vihar residence in Bhubaneswar.

Sources say that Rs.3,02,30,800 was recovered from Rout's homes in Bhubaneswar and Nabarangpur. "He appears to have made consistent cash deposits into a number of benami bank accounts." Details of one such account opened in the name of an acquaintance in IndusInd Bank, Bhubaneswar, where Rs.21 lakhs in cash deposits are suspected to have been made by Rout from 2019 onwards, have been gathered," a Vigilance release.

ASSETS UNEARTHED

1) A double-storey building measuring plinth area of total 1942 sqft at HIG-115, Kanan Vihar, Bhubaneswar

2) 5 plots, including 4 in prime areas of Cuttack & Bhubaneswar and 1 benami plot at Umarkote, Nawarangpur, which is under verification.

The measurement and valuation/assessment of the building/plots is being carried out by Vigilance Technical Wing.

3) Bank & Insurance deposits over Rs 41 lakh.

4) 2 four wheelers (Innova & Maruti Swift) & 1 two wheeler (Honda Activa) worth Rs.37 lakh, cost of Innova car (benami) Rs.29,50,163 which is under verification.

5) Gold & silver jewellery and household articles worth over Rs.21.35 lakh.

“Rout also spent Rs 87 lakh on medical education of his daughter and educational expenditure of his son. Further searches are continuing. Unearthing of more assets is likely and overall valuation is likely to increase,” the release added.

The OAS officer joined service on July 1, 1996. He worked as tehsildar in Kendrapada, Jajpur, Balasore, Bargarh districts and as BDO in Jajpur, Cuttack, Kendrapada and Sundargarh districts. On November 6, 2018, Rout was arrested for allegedly demanding and accepting Rs 1 lakh bribe from Jhirpani Executive Officer for giving administrative approval to a project worth Rs 11.50 lakh. He was then serving as Block Development Officer (BDO), Bisra, in Sundargarh district.

He was placed under suspension and reinstated on January 18, 2020, as the Additional Sub-Collector of Nabarangpur.