Bhubaneswar: The officials of the Odisha Vigilance have recovered around Rs 2 crore in cash from the bank lockers of Baikuntha Nath Behera, the Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) of the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Baliguda in Kandhamal district.

The Vigilance sleuths had earlier unearthed several high-value assets linked to Behera while conducting searches in connection with a disproportionate assets (DA) case.

The Vigilance officials conducted simultaneous raids at nine locations across Bhubaneswar, Baliguda, Baripada and Dharmasala in Jajpur district.

The searches unearthed five buildings owned by Behera and his family members. These include a four-storeyed building measuring around 10,500 square feet at Niladri Vihar in Bhubaneswar, a three-storeyed building at Sailashree Vihar, two double-storeyed buildings in Kanan Vihar and Chandrasekharpur areas of the capital city, and another double-storeyed building built on ancestral land at Pandua in Jajpur district.  

Investigators have also identified 13 high-value plots linked to Behera and his family. Seven of these plots are located in prime areas of Bhubaneswar, while five are situated in Dharmasala of Jajpur district and one in Baripada.