Crorepati government official is a senior project engineer in Bihar’s bridge construction department
BHAGALPUR: As many as 20 parcels of land in different cities of Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand, jewellery & gold biscuits worth crores, and ₹97.80 lakhs in cash apart of investments in financial markets are among the recoveries made by vigilance sleuths from the residence of a Bihar government engineer in Bhagalpur.
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Shrikant Sharma, a senior project engineer with the Bihar State Bridge Construction Corporation, was taken into custody following the search operation by a team of the state vigilance department for owning properties disproportionate to his declared sources of income.
The vigilance sleuths’ search operation, backed by a search warrant, commenced on Wednesday morning at Sharma’s residence and office in Bhagalpur district. The six-hour-long operation unearthed a trove of movable and immovable assets.
Videos released by the department show bundles of cash stashed in two suitcases and several gold biscuits, utensils made of silver and more than a dozen jewellery items spread on a table.
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The 20 parcels of land in several cities of Bihar, in Deoghar of neighbouring Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand’s capital Dehradun is valued at more than ₹1.4 crores, as per vigilance officials.
Deputy SP (vigilance) Satyakant, who spearheaded the operation, said the exact value of the illegal properties will be determined after detailed evaluation.