Patna: Economic Offences Unit (EOU) froze Rs25.86 lakh in 16 bank accounts belonging to a senior Bihar govt engineer and his close relatives during searches conducted on Tuesday in a disproportionate assets case. The raiding team also detected multiple properties and gathered documents related to investments, jewellery and an SUV suspected to have a ‘benami’ connection.The searches were conducted against Kamlesh Kumar, general manager (technical) of Bihar State Building Construction Corporation Limited (BSBCCL), at four locations linked to him. EOU had registered a disproportionate assets case against Kumar on Monday and carried out the searches after obtaining warrants from Special Court of Vigilance, Patna. The operation was led by DSP-rank officers.According to EOU DIG Manavjit Singh Dhillon, preliminary evidence showed that Kumar had acquired assets worth Rs3.1 crore, which was around 103.30% more than his known legal sources of income. He said the value of the disproportionate assets could increase after scrutiny of documents and other material recovered during the searches.The searches also led to the detection of a G+2 building belonging to Kumar at Sarvodaya Maidan in Jandaha, Vaishali. Another residential property was found under construction in the area.In Patna, EOU found a G+4 building constructed on around 2.5 kattha of land on Rajiv Nagar Road. Officials also recovered documents related to an SUV, which the agency suspected could be registered in the name of a ‘benami’ owner.Investigators recovered documents related to investments in LIC and other insurance companies, besides documents concerning the purchase of a large quantity of jewellery. EOU also gathered information about Kumar’s son pursuing education at a private medical college, where a substantial amount was estimated to have been spent.The case was registered under Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018. The building construction department was also being informed about the case against Kumar and the allegations of dereliction of duty as a public servant.
