Ranchi, Oct. 5: Former rural development minister Anosh Ekka accumulated assets worth more than 44 times the salary earned by him between April 2004 and December 2008 when he was a minister in successive NDA and UPA governments.

His one-time ministerial colleague and former urban development minister Harinarayan Rai’s net worth was, however, lesser — total assets found to be disproportionate to his known sources of income was around 11 times the salary earned by him during the four-and-half years he was minister.

Chargesheets filed today before the vigilance court by the state vigilance bureau indicated that Ekka had amassed unaccounted assets worth Rs 6.67 crore though his total earnings grossed a paltry Rs 15 lakh during the four-and-half years he was minister.

Rai’s total assets were pegged at Rs 1.63 crore.

Both ministers are lodged at the Birsa Munda central jail, Ranchi.

“All assets identified as disproportionate and belonging to the two former ministers and their respective spouses will be seized. We have begun legal processes to seize all such assets,” DGP (vigilance) Neyaz Ahmad said.

The vigilance bureau believes the grand total of assets will, however, be much more. “We have received further information of other landed property both in and outside in Jharkhand, particularly in Siliguri in Bengal, which reportedly stands in the name of Ekka. Further investigations are on,” he added.

Ahmad said that chargesheets filed against both Ekka and Rai ran into more than 600 pages. More than 100 witnesses had been examined and 223 documents substantiating illegal accumulation of wealth, submitted before the court.

Most of the disproportionate assets were in land. While Ekka had bought numerous plots in and around Ranchi, Simdega and in Siliguri, Rai bought large plots at Deoghar and Dumka in addition to land at Harmu where a palatial building was under construction.

Ahmad added that orders had been passed to investigate the role of four officials in the rank of deputy collector, land revenue, and circle officers who had allegedly helped the two buy land in violation of the provisions of the Chhotanagpur and Santhal Pargana tenancy acts.

A disproportionate assets case was lodged against both Ekka and Rai in November 2008 after which the duo were sacked from the council of ministers by then chief minister Shibu Soren on December 19.

The vigilance court issued arrest warrants against the two on June 27 after the vigilance department complained that they weren’t co-operating with the investigators.

However, the duo managed to evade arrest till August 17 when they surrendered before the court.