Talcher, Angul District – Dharnidhar Nayak, the Deputy Director of Mines (DDM) in Talcher, was arrested today after raids exposed his vast wealth. Vigilance officers seized over ₹4 lakh in cash and his mobile phone during the operation.
The vigilance team, comprising 10 DSPs, 16 Inspectors, and 7 ASIs, conducted raids at multiple locations. These included Nayak’s office in Talcher, his government residence, his father’s house in Pramananda village (Telkoi police station), his house in Bhubaneswar’s Patia area, a market complex in Singhkulbahal, and his father-in-law’s house in Purmunda (Keonjhar’s Pandapada police station).
The raids, which began yesterday, uncovered significant assets. Officers found that Nayak owns a flat worth ₹1.3 crore, 11 plots of land, 2 market complexes, a duplex in Bhubaneswar, and bank deposits totaling ₹53 lakh. Additionally, ₹9.85 lakh in cash was seized from his residence.
Nayak is accused of accepting large sums of money from coal and stone mafias in exchange for favors. The sheer scale of his wealth has left vigilance officers stunned as they continue to investigate the extent of his assets.