SVU raids at former Supaul CO’s premises in DA case

Patna: A Special Vigilance Unit (SVU) team conducted raids at the properties of Prince Raj, a former circle officer (CO) of Supaul, in Sheikhpura and Madhubani districts on Wednesday. A case was filed against the former CO, who is currently on suspension, for possessing disproportionate assets (DA) to his known sources of income.
Prince joined the state govt's revenue and land reforms department in 2019. His wife, Anku Gupta, is also a CO of Aryari block in Sheikhpura district. The raid began at 8.30am and it was ongoing by the time this report was filed. Anku fled home, leaving her child behind, but was later tracked down using CCTV footage. She was also questioned by the raiding team.
Prince is accused of amassing wealth through illicit means while in govt service, which is higher than his salary and other known sources of income. Based on these allegations, a case under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (amended in 2018), and its other section was registered for possessing disproportionate assets.
According to known sources, the allegations in the case suggest that more than 93% of his assets are disproportionate to his income. Preliminary probe indicates that the accused acquired significant movable and immovable properties during his tenure at various postings.
Prince and his wife own several residential properties and flats. Multiple bank accounts and fixed deposits in the names of Prince and his wife, along with jewellery worth several lakhs, have been verified, which will be subject to detailed investigation, an SVU statement said.
During the raid, a locker in the name of the accused's wife, Anku, was found at the Bank of India branch in Hazaribagh. The investigation also revealed four properties of the couple, which include two in Madhubani and one each in Sheikhpura and Hazaribagh.