Vigilance arrests deputy collector in disproportionate assets case in Odisha

JAGATSINGHPUR: Vigilance officials on Wednesday arrested the deputy collector of Jagatsinghpur Chitta Ranjan Pilla for amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. After a thorough search and inquiry, the income, expenditure and assets of the deputy collector were calculated. He was found in possession of disproportionate assets which are 191 per cent higher than his known sources of income, said the Vigilance in a release.

The assets owned by Pilla and his family members include five flats, two double-storey buildings, 11 plots, bank and insurance deposits of Rs 48.71 lakh, two four-wheelers valued at Rs 11.40 lakh besides gold and household items worth around Rs 13.64 lakh. Three two-wheelers worth Rs 3.24 lakh and cash of over Rs 1.85 lakh were also recovered.

A day back, officials of the anti-corruption agency had conducted searches at nine places linked to Pilla. The deputy collector was arrested as he could not give a satisfactory account of the assets he had amassed. 
Bhubaneswar Vigilance registered a case against Pilla and his wife in this connection. He was produced in the court of Special Judge, Vigilance. Further investigation is underway.

Pilla joined government service as a junior clerk in February 1993 and served at Patnagarh tehsil in Balangir, Ranpur in Nayagarh and DRDA, Sonepur. In 2006, he was promoted to the rank of senior clerk and served in various posts at Sonepur. In September 2018 he was selected to ORS and joined as an assistant collector at Boudh. In October 2019, he joined as an additional tehsildar, in Bhubaneswar. On October 19 this year, Pilla was selected to OAS and joined as deputy collector (Land Acquisition) in Jagatsinghpur.

Engineer faces raids

Bhawanipatna: Vigilance officials on Wednesday conducted raids on the premises of the assistant executive engineer of Bhawanipatna municipality Samir Kumar Thakur in connection with a disproportionate assets case. On the strength of search warrants issued by the Special Judge, Vigilance, raids were conducted at Thakur’s three-storey residential building at Mahavirpada in Bhawanipatna, a double-storey building at Irrigation Colony, the house of his relative at Marwaripada, and his office in Bhawanipatna municipality.

Vigilance sources said bank and insurance deposits worth over Rs 40.93 lakhs, 244 gm of gold, a car and other assets linked to Thakur have been unearthed so far. Further search is underway.