The Odisha Vigilance on Wednesday arrested a senior official of the Odisha Police Housing and Welfare Corporation (OPHWC) after discovering a staggering collection of assets, including Rs 48.79 lakh in cash and over 1 kg of gold, during raids linked to a bribery case.
The accused officer, Bidyut Ranjan Bhol, is currently the Deputy Manager at OPHWC’s Sambalpur Division.
P.K. Dwibedi, Superintendent of Police (Vigilance), Sambalpur Division, speaking to media persons, said that Bhol had been under surveillance following frequent complaints that he was demanding and collecting money from contractors to release their pending payments.
The Vigilance officials further received that Bhol intended to transport the collected bribe money to his home by the end of March.
Following a preliminary investigation that found the allegations to be prima facie true, the Vigilance department approached the court for permission to initiate action against the officer.
In ongoing searches by #Odisha #Vigilance against Bidyut Ranjan Bhol, Deputy Manager, Odisha Police Housing & Welfare Corporation (OPHWC), Rs 48.8 Lakhs cash, 29 plots, 2 multistoreyed bldgs, 1 flat in #Bhubaneswar, gold 1.14Kg, etc unearthed so far. Searches continuing. pic.twitter.com/w6HmqQxmCi
— Odisha Vigilance (@OdishaVigilance) April 1, 2026
“Meanwhile, on Tuesday, we suddenly received a tip-off that Bidyut Ranjan, along with bribe money collected from contractors, was leaving for his official quarters at Rasulgrah in Bhubaneswar, where his family is residing. Acting on the tip-off, we deployed a special vigilance team, which intercepted the vehicle of Bidyut Ranjan on his way to the junction near Sambalpur Railway station on Tuesday,” the Vigilance SP said.
During the search, police officers recovered Rs 5,18,900 in cash from Bhol’s possession.
Subsequent searches of his office and rental accommodation led to the seizure of several incriminating materials and documents.
This was followed by simultaneous raids at multiple locations linked to Bhol, including his ancestral and relatives’ properties in Sambalpur, Bhubaneswar, and Bhanjanagar (Ganjam).
The Vigilance unearthed multi-storeyed buildings, one flat in Bhubaneswar, 29 plots in Jatni, Berhampur, and other locations, and gold weighing 1.14 kg, including six gold coins and two gold biscuits, from the officer’s and his family’s possession.
During the residential searches, the Vigilance officials recovered a total cash worth Rs 48,79,100, of which Rs 35 lakh was found hidden in a trunk at his elder sister’s house, along with various bank deposits totalling Rs 30 lakh.
Bidyut Ranjan Bhol was arrested by the Vigilance on Wednesday after a case was registered at the Sambalpur Vigilance Police Station under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018.
