Odisha Vigilance searches linked to Tapan Sethi, an Assistant Executive Engineer in the Rural and Works Department’s Badachana sub-division in Jajpur, have identified multiple buildings, plots, a farmhouse, gold jewellery and vehicles across Odisha, according to a report by Pragativadi.
The searches are examining properties associated with Sethi and his family members in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Puri. The Vigilance Technical Wing is still assessing the precise measurements and value of the properties, while financial deposits and other investments remain under scrutiny.
The properties identified so far include a triple-storey building of about 2,000 square feet at CDA Sector-7 in Cuttack, another triple-storey building measuring approximately 3,600 square feet in Sidha Mahavir, Puri, and a double-storey building of about 2,200 square feet in Kantabada, Bhubaneswar. Investigators have also identified a one-acre farmhouse at Kantapada near Cuttack and three plots, including two in Bhubaneswar and one in CDA, Cuttack.
The searches have also brought to light approximately 550 grams of gold jewellery, two four-wheelers — a Grand Vitara and a Hyundai Santro — and two two-wheelers. A bank locker operated by Sethi at the State Bank of India’s Main Branch in Bhubaneswar is yet to be opened, according to the report.
The operation is examining whether the assets are disproportionate to Sethi’s known sources of income. The identification and valuation of assets do not by themselves establish criminal liability, and the investigation is continuing. The Vigilance authorities are expected to determine the total financial footprint after completing the technical assessment, reviewing investments and accessing the bank locker.
Sethi joined the Odisha government service as a Junior Engineer (Civil) on August 6, 1997, under the Engineer-in-Chief (Civil), Odisha, with an initial monthly salary of Rs. 5,000, the report said. He served in Dhenkanal and Angul between 1997 and 2008, in Jagatsinghpur from 2008 to 2018, and in Kendrapada from 2018 to 2022, where he was promoted as an Assistant Engineer.
He was later promoted as an Assistant Executive Engineer in R&B Division-III, Bhubaneswar, and transferred in October 2023 to the R&B Sub-Division in Badachana. His postings place the case within the public works administration, where officials oversee road and related infrastructure delivery, making asset-disclosure and procurement integrity important governance concerns.
The searches remain ongoing. Further details are expected after the pending bank locker is opened, the properties are valued by the Vigilance Technical Wing and the authorities complete scrutiny of the financial records and investments.
