Patna SVU team raids DEO's premises; Rs 2.75cr cash, jewellery seized

PATNA: Special Vigilance Unit (SVU) teams from Patna on Thursday conducted simultaneous raids on the office and residences of West Champaran district education officer (DEO) Rajnee Kant Praveen in Bettiah - where he is posted - as well as Samastipur, Madhubani and Darbhanga districts in connection with a disproportionate assets case. So far, Rs 2.75 crore cash, jewellery and and documents worth around Rs 50 lakh have been recovered.
According to the SVU, the cash amount can go up as counting was still on. The amount of cash is so huge that the SVU teams had to rope in the local branches of public banks, whose officials went to the spots with currency-counting machines to count the sum. The SVU said it appears that there is a case of disproportionate assets exceeding 74.3%.
"Praveen is accused of amassing huge assets illicitly and intentionally to the extent of at least Rs 1,87,23,625, which is disproportionate to his known legal sources of income, and which he is unlikely to account for satisfactorily, since 2005, while holding different posts, being a public servant in the govt of Bihar," said additional director general (ADG) of SVU, Pankaj Darad.