Raining cash: Engineer throws bundles from window during raid, ₹2 cr seized

The anti-corruption wing of the Odisha Police carried out raids at multiple locations linked to the government chief engineer in Bhubaneswar

Odisha Vigilance officials have recovered over ₹2 crore in cash and other valuable assets from the residence of a government engineer, suspecting them to be disproportionate to his known sources of income, PTI reported. 

VIDEO | Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance conducts raid on the properties of Chief Engineer Baikuntha Nath Sarangi, recovers Rs 2.1 crore cash.  (Source: Third Party)#Odisha pic.twitter.com/1fPi5keOFP

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 30, 2025

 

The anti-corruption wing of the Odisha Police on Friday carried out the raids at multiple locations linked to Baikuntha Nath Sarangi, chief engineer (plan roads), RW Division, Bhubaneswar, over allegations of amassing assets disproportionate to his income, according to the report. 

 

 

Officials said around ₹1 crore in cash was recovered from Sarangi’s flat in Bhubaneswar, while another ₹1.1 crore was found at his residence in Angul. In a dramatic turn, Sarangi allegedly attempted to dispose of the money by throwing bundles of ₹500 notes out of his flat window in Bhubaneswar, which were later recovered in the presence of witnesses. 

 

Simultaneous searches took place at Sarangi’s office, his two-storey house in Karadagadia (Angul), and flats in Bhubaneswar and Siula in Puri district. Vigilance officials also searched his ancestral home and properties belonging to his relatives in Angul.

 

In a separate case of financial misconduct in Odisha, Chintan Raghuvanshi, a deputy director of the ED, was caught red-handed accepting ₹20 lakh from Ratikanta Rout, a Bhubaneswar-based stone-mining businessman. Officials said the amount was part of a larger ₹2 crore bribe allegedly demanded in exchange for relief in an ongoing case against Rout. Some reports indicate the total bribe demand may have gone as high as ₹5 crore, with initial instalments pegged between ₹20 lakh and ₹50 lakh.