Overview

• On July 1, Odisha Vigilance arrested Dayanidhi Bagh, a joint director in the Soil Conservation and Watershed Development Directorate, on charges of possessing assets disproportionate to his known income.
• The raids on June 30 targeted eight sites across Bhubaneswar, Nabarangpur and Kalahandi districts and were led by teams of deputy superintendents of police, inspectors and ASIs under warrants from the Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhawanipatna.
• Investigators uncovered 84 acres of land—the largest hoard ever unearthed by the department—alongside two farmhouses, a shopping complex, multiple flats and an under-construction building.
• Additional dispossessed assets include over ₹58 lakh in bank deposits, gold ornaments weighing 312 grams and a four-wheeler held in another person’s name, pointing to benami ownership.
• Officials are carrying out formal measurement and valuation of all seized properties as part of an ongoing probe triggered by May arrests of watershed officers for alleged MGNREGA embezzlement.