Bhubaneswar, Dec 31 (AHN) The Odisha Vigilance on Tuesday unearthed assets worth several crores during house searches at multiple locations linked to two government officials, including an Additional Tehasildar.

According to vigilance sources, on the allegation of possession of assets disproportionate to the known sources of income, four teams of Odisha Vigilance, comprising four Deputy SPs, seven Inspectors, and other supporting staff, conducted house searches on the properties of Jitendra Kumar Panda, Additional Tahasildar, Barang in Cuttack district on Tuesday at four places in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack & Khordha.

The vigilance sleuths found Panda and his family have two triple-storeyed buildings, a two BHK flat in Bhubaneswar, one double-storeyed building in Khordha, four high-value plots, including three in the posh area of Bhubaneswar and one in Khordha town, gold jewellery weighing 500 gms, over Rs 72 lakhs in cash, bank and insurance deposits worth around Rs 20 Lakhs, etc.

The sleuths suspect the recovery of more assets on Wednesday as the search is still on till the last report came in.

Similarly, during house searches in another disproportionate assets case, vigilance officials on Tuesday came across huge properties owned by Panchayat Executive Officer (PEO) Jitendra Kumar Jena of Hatadihi block in Keonjhar district, as well as those of his family.

The anti-corruption sleuths have so far found that Jena and his family members have assets worth crores, which include one triple-storeyed building, one double-storeyed market complex, six plots, approximately 100 grams of gold, deposits worth Rs 34.06 lakhs, and one four-wheeler.

Meanwhile, one Fanindra Kumar Sahu, Former Managing Director of Jamankira Large-sized Agricultural Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society (LAMPCS) Ltd. in Sambalpur district, was on Tuesday arrested by Odisha Vigilance for misappropriation of over Rs 79 lakhs.

Vigilance sources said the arrest followed an investigation into financial discrepancies during the 2021–22 fiscal year, in which a total of Rs 79.28 lakh was allegedly misappropriated.

The accused, Sahu, is alleged to have collected loan repayment amounts directly from local farmers but deliberately omitted these entries from the Day Book, the primary accounting record.

To conceal the missing funds, he reportedly submitted false repayment vouchers to the Sambalpur District Cooperative Central Bank (SDCC Bank), Jamankira branch.

The documents were allegedly affixed with fake seals to give the appearance of official bank verification.