The Economic Offence Wing of Odisha Police launched simultaneous raids across 11 locations in Bhubaneswar and Rayagada on Friday.
Sleuths targeted properties linked to former Rajya Sabha member Bhaskar Rao Nekkanti and his close associates during this massive crackdown.
Eight dedicated EOW teams executed these coordinated search operations starting early Friday morning across both districts.
Officers raided the residential houses of Bhaskar Rao at Raniguda Farm and B. Manmadha Rao at Pitala Street in Rayagada.
Investigators also searched the residence of G. Krishna at Rayat Colony in Rayagada to gather crucial evidence.
Another team thoroughly inspected the main road office of the Rayagada Truck Owners’ Association during the morning operation.
In Bhubaneswar, EOW officials raided the premises of Aditya Industries Pvt Ltd located in the Forest Park area.
The agency conducted these searches as part of an ongoing investigation into Case 15/26, registered on September 22.
Police booked the accused under sections 406, 403, 417, 420, 384, 506, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
The case involves serious allegations of large-scale financial irregularities, criminal misappropriation of funds, extortion, and criminal intimidation.
Office-bearers of the Rayagada Truck Owners’ Association allegedly orchestrated this multi-crore scam over nearly two decades.
According to an official EOW statement, the principal accused conspired with other office-bearers to extort money from local truck owners.
They forcibly collected huge sums under various false pretexts since 2005 without issuing any official receipts.
Shockingly, the accused even collected money by claiming they needed funds to finance illegal Naxalite activities in the region.
Investigators estimate that these unrecorded collections accumulated into a massive sum over the past twenty years.
The accused never maintained proper accounting records for the vast amounts of cash they gathered from transport operators.
Instead, the office-bearers allegedly diverted the misappropriated association funds into several of their own private business ventures.
They funneled the illicit money into private logistics, trading, mining, and real estate companies for personal financial gain.
EOW sleuths are currently probing total financial irregularities and fraud worth nearly Rs 80 crore in this specific case.
These long-standing discrepancies raised serious questions regarding the management and transparency of the association’s financial transactions.
Detectives intensified their probe following preliminary evidence that exposed deep-rooted corruption within the transport body’s leadership.
During Friday’s extensive raids, EOW teams seized numerous incriminating documents, financial ledgers, and digital records from the targeted premises.
Officials are now scrutinizing the seized papers to trace the exact money trail and identify additional beneficiaries.
The agency expects the recovered evidence to strengthen its legal case against the former parliamentarian and his co-accused.
Further searches and questioning of the suspects will continue as the Economic Offence Wing deepens its investigation.
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