Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance has arrested Muralidhar Urmal, the Tahasildar-cum-Sub-Registrar of Lathikata in Sundargarh, following the seizure of suspected ill-gotten cash to the tune of Rs 5 lakh from his possession.

Urmal, an OAS officer, was sent to jail after a Vigilance court rejected his bail plea, said an official.

The Tahasildar was caught with suspected unaccounted cash worth around Rs 5 lakh on Thursday.

The Vigilance sleuths had intercepted Urmal while he was returning to his residence in Rourkela city from office in a hired vehicle in the evening.

On the basis of reliable inputs, the Vigilance sleuths intercepted the Tahasildar near Rajabasa Chhak at Lathikata and recovered the cash from his possession.

The Vigilance officials seized the money after the Tahasildar failed to give satisfactory account in this regard. 

Soon after the seizure, the Odisha Vigilance launched simultaneous searches at the Tahasildar’s rented accommodation in Rourkela, his ancestral house at Karmdih and office at Lathikata to unearth any disproportionate assets (DA) accumulated by him.

During the searches, the Vigilance sleuths recovered Rs 5.74 lakh in cash from Urmal’s possession.

Besides, they unearthed several high-value assets including a double-storeyed building at Karmdihi, six plots in Sundargarh, 241 grams of gold jewellery, 635 grams of silver ornaments during the searches.

The officials also uncovered bank, postal and insurance deposits worth Rs 66.10 lakh, a four-wheeler and three two-wheelers while conducting searches at places linked to the Tahasildar.