Cash rain in Bhubaneswar as Odisha chief engineer caught throwing crores out of window during corruption raid

In a scene straight out of a crime thriller, residents of a quiet Bhubaneswar neighborhood were stunned as bundles of ₹500 notes came flying out of a window — hurled in desperation by a top government engineer moments before vigilance officials stormed his flat.

The man behind the drama, Baikuntha Nath Sarangi, is a Chief Engineer in Odisha’s Rural Development Department. He is now at the center of a major disproportionate assets investigation. Over ₹2.1 crore in unaccounted cash has been recovered from multiple properties linked to him across Odisha, following raids by the state vigilance department.

The raids, which unfolded simultaneously across seven locations in Angul, Bhubaneswar, and Puri, involved a coordinated operation by 26 officers, including senior ranks such as eight Deputy Superintendents of Police. Authorities swooped in on residential properties, a relative’s home, and Sarangi’s office chamber in what is being described as one of the department’s most significant stings this year.

The breakdown of cash seizures reveals the depth of alleged illicit wealth:

• ₹1.1 crore recovered from his Angul residence
• ₹1 crore found hidden in his Bhubaneswar flat

But what truly shocked bystanders—and quickly went viral on social media—was Sarangi’s frantic attempt to dispose of the evidence. As officers approached his Dumduma apartment in Bhubaneswar, he reportedly hurled bundles of cash out the window in a futile bid to erase the trail. Officials later retrieved the thrown currency in front of eyewitnesses, adding another layer of spectacle to the unfolding scandal.

Video footage released by the vigilance department shows officers painstakingly counting mounds of cash, predominantly in ₹500 denominations, but also including bundles of ₹200, ₹100, and ₹50 notes. The final count is still underway.

Sarangi is being investigated for amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income — a charge that could have wide-reaching implications for Odisha’s rural infrastructure wing.

This case has reignited public discourse around entrenched corruption in government departments and is expected to trigger a wider crackdown on bureaucratic malfeasance in the state.