Bhubaneswar: Acting on the allegation of money laundering against mines owner Jitendra Nath Patnaik (Jitu Patnaik), Officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted simultaneous raids at four places linked to him on Wednesday.
The ED officials conducted raids at two places of Patnaik in Bhubaneswar and two places in Joda of Keonjhar district; this includes his house which is situated near the Sai Temple at Joda and his office at Baneikala Chawak and another house in the Surya Nagar area of the State Capital City.
While speaking to Kalinga TV, the ED official though did not reveal more details about the raid, informed that the raids, which began at around 8 AM, were conducted in connection with the money laundering case against the mines owner.
Sources said that the ED sleuths said to have verified Patnaik’s several vital documents and bank passbooks.
It is pertinent to mention here that Jitu Patnaik has several mines block in Joda area. However, he had allegedly carried out mining illegally from 1999 to 2009 due to which the Odisha government had to bear a loss of revenue to the tune of Rs 130 crore.
Later, taking a serious note of the loss of revenue, the State Vigilance filed a case of money laundering against him in 2009 and submitted the charge sheet in 2013. Now, the Enforcement Directorate is conducting raids.
Ms Kalinga