A special squad of Odisha vigilance on Wednesday forcibly broke open the entrance door of an executive engineer’s house and conducted a raid. The squad seized Rs 19, 51,500 in cash from his house, said a media release issued by state vigilance.

Following allegations of acquisition of disproportionate assets by Jagannath Sethy, executive engineer, rural works (electrical), a team of vigilance officials comprising additional superintendent of police (SP), four deputy superintendent of police (DSPs) and 10 inspectors conducted raids at five places including his office and his house in his native village Puttabagada under Chhatrapur police station in Ganjam district.

“As Sethy at Berhampur and his son at Bhubaneswar locked themselves inside their houses and showed non-cooperation even after being told about the search warrants, the vigilance team forcibly entered the premises after breaking open the entrance doors. In this connection appropriate legal action will be taken against them for obstruction in lawful discharge of duties,” the press release said.

The vigilance has so far found assets of the engineer including a four-storeyed residential building and a five-storeyed building in Berhampur, the commercial hub of southern Odisha, and a four-storeyed building in Bhubaneswar near AIIMS.