Patna: Special Vigilance Unit (SVU) of Bihar Police on Tuesday carried out simultaneous raids at multiple locations linked to Brijesh Kumar, deputy development commissioner-cum-chief executive officer of Zila Parishad, Sheohar, in connection with a disproportionate assets case.Additional director general of police (SVU) Pankaj Kumar Darad said a case was registered against the DDC at SVU police station on March 23. “Following registration of the FIR, raids were conducted on Tuesday on the basis of a search warrant issued by the special court (vigilance), Patna,” he said.The SVU teams, led by DSP Ashok Kumar Jha, searched Kumar’s govt office located on the ground floor of the district collectorate in Sheohar, his official residence near Kisan Maidan Sub-divisional Ground in Sheohar, his ancestral village house in West Champaran (Bettiah) and the residence of his father-in-law, ERB Ram, a retired executive engineer, at Pratap Nagar in Sitamarhi.Preliminary investigation revealed that Kumar amassed Rs 1.84 crore in illegal and illegitimate assets during his govt service, which is significantly disproportionate to his known sources of income.Kumar, a Bihar Administrative Service officer, has served in several key positions, including senior deputy collector in Nalanda, sub-divisional officer in Chakia (Motihari) and SDO in Muzaffarpur (West). He is currently posted in Sheohar, where he oversees the implementation, monitoring and coordination of rural development programmes, Panchayati Raj institutions and various welfare schemes.The DDC was present at his official residence in Sheohar during the raids, where the teams thoroughly checked documents, files and other materials. During the simultaneous searches, investigators recovered evidence of vast wealth, which they said was many times greater than the initial allegations mentioned in the FIR. Several documents related to immovable properties in the name of the accused and his wife were also seized.Kumar’s wife, Geetanjali Kumari, a homemaker, owns four immovable properties in Danapur, Patna, with a total value of Rs 2.26 crore. All these properties were purchased in 2022–23 when Kumar was serving as SDO in Muzaffarpur (West). The assets include three commercial shops in Saguna More, all registered in his wife’s name.During interrogation, the accused reportedly admitted that all three commercial shops actually belong to him. Additionally, he has invested Rs 21 lakh in various banks and financial institutions. A land gift worth Rs 31 lakh from a relative in Shikarpur, Narkatiaganj, was also discovered during the searches.An official said, “Further investigation is underway into possible benami properties and assets purchased in the names of relatives. The raids are still ongoing, and the SVU team continues to scrutinise all recovered documents, bank records and other evidence.”
