Bhubaneswar, Feb. 17: Odisha Small Industries Corporation Limited managing director Partha Sarathi Mishra, who was arrested yesterday after Rs 2.14 lakh in cash was found from his vehicle halted near his office at Khapuria in Cuttack on Wednesday, was said to be in possession of movable and immovable properties worth more than Rs 5 crore.
Vigilance sleuths conducting raids on his office chamber at Khapuria, his government quarters at Unit-II in Bhubaneswar and his residence at Bajrakabati Road in Cuttack found the IAS officer of leading a lavish lifestyle.
The anti-corruption wing of the state police found the IAS officer of visiting foreign countries such as the US, UK, Canada and Netherlands frequently. The search team found as many as 42 imported perfumes, along with several India-made perfumes. The team also found nine high-end watches, 52 costly jean pants, 73 branded shirts, 32 T-shirts and an equal number of branded coats of the officer during the search operations.
"The sleuths conducting raids have not seen so costly watches and perfumes, so the cost of the assets is yet to be ascertained. We have also found travel documents, which revealed the IAS officer of frequently visiting foreign counties. The amount of money spent on these tours is being ascertained," said a vigilance sleuth.
So far, the vigilance have traced three massive buildings one each in Puri, Cuttack and Bhubaneswar having a market value of more than Rs 2.5 crore. "The IAS officer also possesses multiple bank accounts with deposits in crores. We are verifying the bank account details and other immovable properties such as land of the officer," said a vigilance sleuth. They also found Mishra owning a Honda City car worth Rs 11 lakh.
Mishra, who had been a promoted to the IAS cadre, was earlier removed from the post of Dean of Students' Welfare, Ravenshaw University in February 2014 after a postgraduate student had levelled sexual harassment charges on him.
The officer had allegedly made marriage proposals to the student, when she had gone to enrol her name for the placement. Mishra also allegedly molested her in his chamber after she had turned down the proposal. Mishra was on a deputation to the university and had been working as the Dean of Students' Welfare since 2010.
Reward
The state government has announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for providing information related to the decomposed body of a woman, which was found at Kuakhai river bank on February 1. The police are yet to identify the deceased, believed to be aged between 25 and 30 years.