In a dramatic scene reminiscent of a thriller, Baikuntha Nath Sarangi, Chief Engineer of Plan Roads at Odisha’s Rural Works (RW) Division, reportedly attempted to dispose of illicit money by hurling bundles of ₹500 notes from his Bhubaneswar apartment window the moment he spotted vigilance officials entering the premises.
Witnesses said the cash fluttered through the air before being recovered by officials in the presence of locals. The Vigilance Department confirmed that approximately ₹1 crore was recovered from the flat, while another ₹1.1 crore was found during a simultaneous raid at his Angul residence.
The episode became an instant talking point across media and social platforms, symbolizing the impunity and panic often associated with high-level corruption.
The Anatomy of a Disproportionate Assets Case
Sarangi, a senior government officer entrusted with overseeing public infrastructure in Odisha, had long been under the vigilance department’s radar for allegedly amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. Search warrants issued by a Special Vigilance Judge in Angul paved the way for a coordinated raid across his multiple properties.
Vigilance sleuths searched Sarangi’s ancestral home, his relatives’ residences in Angul, and flats in Bhubaneswar, Siula, and Pipli (Puri district). His office chamber at the Chief Engineer’s office in RD Planning and Road, Bhubaneswar, was also raided.
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Officials confirmed that the total cash and valuables recovered exceeded ₹2 crore. They stated that further assessments are underway to evaluate the market value of other seized properties, which include real estate and possibly undeclared financial instruments.
A Wider Crackdown in the State
This operation is part of a broader clampdown by the Odisha Vigilance and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on financial crimes involving public officials. In a related development, a Deputy Director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Chintan Raghuvanshi, was arrested in Bhubaneswar for allegedly accepting a ₹20 lakh bribe from a stone-mining businessman to provide relief in a case under investigation.
Raghuvanshi, a 2013-batch IRS officer, is accused of demanding ₹5 crore in total and was caught in a trap laid by the CBI. He was arrested after questioning and now faces charges related to bribery and misuse of official position.
Odisha’s Deepening Graft Dilemma
The series of high-profile arrests and cash recoveries have spotlighted the state’s vulnerability to corruption within the upper echelons of its bureaucracy. Public reaction has ranged from disbelief to outrage, with civil society groups calling for stronger institutional checks and quicker prosecution of errant officers.
For many, Sarangi’s “cash rain” has become a metaphor for the system’s moral decay—where wealth is not hidden behind vaults but flung out in desperation. While the investigations continue, the case serves as a reminder of the costs borne by the public when infrastructure money takes detours through personal windows.