Patna: The alleged lavish lifestyle of domestic help, Paro alias Puja, who worked in former SDPO of Kishanganj Gautam Kumar’s residence, has caught the attention of the Economic Offence Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police, which is probing disproportionate assets against him.A three-member EOU team, led by ASP Indra Prakash, is probing the case.The SDPO was removed from his post on April 1 and FIR was lodged against him on March 29 following recovery of several movable and immovable assets disproportionate to his known source of income.The EOU team found that three SUVs were registered in the names of his mother-in-law, driver Prakash Rai, linked to Sanjay Singh, a liquor mafia, and other associates. The EOU is also probing allegations of properties owned by the former SDPO worth crores of rupees in Uttar Pradesh, Nepal and other places.An official on condition of anonymity said the house connected to Paro, constructed at Dinajpur along West Bengal-Bihar border has been inspected by the team and found to be simple, with basic structure built on only 10 dhur (roughly half katha) of land. “It has only two rooms with asbestos roofing and lacks any luxurious features, contrary to the stories circulating in the media. Paro’s boyfriend, with whom she is living, after separation from her husband, claimed that the house was built by him in Dinajpur,” he said.“Paro currently lives in a modest rented house in Kishanganj, paying Rs2,000 to Rs3,000 per month. She was occasionally dropped home late at night due to work schedules or bad weather, but no luxury car was gifted to her. The investigation has also uncovered a personal angle involving a woman referred to as Shagufta Shamim, who is also co-accused in the FIR lodged with EOU Patna,” the officer said.According to statements from household staff, including Paro, Shagufta frequently visited former SDPO’s residence and stayed there for five to 10 days, allegedly living like his girlfriend. There are unconfirmed reports that he was married to the woman. The former SDPO lived alone in Kishanganj as his wife, Ruby Kashyap, a govt teacher, was posted in Purnia. Documents of properties in Shagufta’s name were reportedly recovered during the raid.It has been accused in the FIR that the former SDPO possessed assets approximately 60.27% higher than his known source of income, amounting to around Rs1.94 crore. The FIR was lodged under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act (Section 13(2) read with 13(1)(b) along with other applicable sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023.The EOU teams conducted searches at six locations on March 31, including his official residence in Kishanganj, properties in Purnia, Patna and Siliguri (West Bengal). A large number of land purchase documents — approximately 25 plots — many of which are suspected to be ‘benami’ properties, were recovered during the raid. Investigators recovered documents for seven plots of land purchased in Shagufta’s name, along with gold jewellery worth approximately Rs60 lakh from her residence.The EOU officials said everything — property registry, bank details, documents and other leads — is still under the verification. “The team is interrogating people linked to the former SDPO. After verification, more revelations will be made. The team will also interrogate him after completing all the legal formalities,” they said.
