Bhubaneswar: Vigilance sleuths on Wednesday arrested Rabindra Kumar Jena, the professor and head of clinical haematology department at SCB Medical College and Hospital, from Laxamannath area on Odisha-Bengal border.

Jena, who is facing cases of accumulating disproportionate assets and giving undue benefits to pharmaceutical companies by receiving pecuniary benefits, was absconding since the first week of December.

An official statement by the vigilance directorate said that Jena was nabbed while returning from Calcutta in a hired SUV.

"Jena fled to Calcutta on December 4 and had stayed at various places. He even produced documents claiming that he was admitted in a private hospital in Kasba in Calcutta between December 17 and December 20," said the statement.

Earlier, the vigilance sleuths had found Jena of possessing movable and immovable assets worth Rs 4.39 crore, which was in 219 per cent excess of his known sources of income.

The professor also allegedly abused his official position to show undue favour to various pharmaceutical companies by prescribing costly drugs to poor patients who receive financial assistance for their treatment under Odisha State Treatment Fund (OSTF).

The vigilance on December 13 had arrested Sudha Sethy, assistant professor of the clinical haematology department and the nodal officer of the OSTF, in this connection.

A special vigilance court later sent Jena to judicial custody till January 3 and asked the vigilance directorate to submit the case diary.

The court has also fixed December 27 for hearing the bail plea filed by Jena.

On the other hand, the vigilance directorate has appealed to the court seeking five-day remand for Jena. The hearing on this is scheduled to take place on Friday.

Vigilance sleuths had conducted raids at 12 places, including the home and office Jena, on November 22.

Jena passed his MBBS from SCB Medical College in 1983 and did his specialisation in medicine from Veer Surendra Sai Medical College in Sambalpur in 1988.

During search, vigilance sleuths had found gold and diamond-studded gold jewellery weighing more than 400 grams, approximately worth Rs 12,00,000, from an UCO bank locker, which Jena maintained in a joint account with his wife, along with several other valuables.