By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: IAS officer Bijay Ketan Upadhyay, arrested on the charges of demanding bribe, had allegedly deposited huge cash in different banks in the last seven years. Scrutiny of his accounts in private and public sector banks by the State Vigilance revealed cash deposits of around Rs 70 lakh in three banks between 2012 and 2019.

Vigilance sources said the cash deposits have been made both in counter and through cash accepting machines. There has been a trend of multiple cash deposits in split up amounts on a single day and on successive days, the sources informed.

"Of the total cash deposits of Rs 70 lakh, around Rs 22 lakh was made during Upadhyaya’s tenure as Director of Horticulture. Money transactions in a number of linked accounts have been found and those are being verified," said a Vigilance official.

The anti-corruption agency has also traced some suspicious accounts through which illegal gratification is suspected to have been routed. These accounts are being probed.

Similarly, cash deposits of about Rs 7 lakh have been made in the bank account of Santosh Kumar Pattanayak, vice-president of a private bank, during the last five months. Pattanayak has been arrested for allegedly accepting illegal gratification of Rs 1 lakh.

Meanwhile, the probe agency has placed requisitions to all banks to unearth other accounts and credit card transactions of both Upadhyay and Pattanayak.

Requisitions have also been sent to National Securities Depository Limited, Central Depositary Services Limited and Computer Age Management Services Limited for tracing their investments in share markets and mutual funds.

A special team consisting of officers of Vigilance Cell, cyber and cell phone forensics experts, bank officer, Chartered Accountant and other financial and IT consultants is probing the case. The investments made by the bureaucrat in different banks and financial institutions and shares, debentures, insurance, mutual funds and other market instruments, if any, are also under verification.

While Upadhyay had allegedly demanded illegal gratification, Pattanayak was trapped on December 30 while accepting it from the authorised representative of SRM Plastochem Pvt Ltd, an empanelled supplier for supply of micro-irrigation systems to eligible farmers under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana. Their bail hearing is on Wednesday.