Cash, ashes and clogged drains: Tejashwi flags new Bihar scandal

Bihar’s recurring tryst with corruption has taken a surreal turn. A raid by the state's Economic Offences Unit (EOU) at the Patna residence of a senior engineer this week reportedly uncovered a desperate attempt to burn and flush away evidence worth crores. What was left behind was not only charred notes and waterlogged pipes, but also a symbolic reminder of how deeply graft seems to have seeped into the state’s governance.

According to media reports citing officials, the EOU arrived at the home of Vinod Kumar Rai, a superintending engineer in the Rural Works Department, at around 1.30 am. They were kept waiting until 6.00 am, during which time, bundles of cash were allegedly set on fire and shoved into drains and toilets.

When the officers finally gained entry, they found over Rs 39 lakh in burnt notes, a total of Rs 52 lakh in cash, an SUV, jewellery worth Rs 26 lakh, and documents suggesting ownership of multiple properties. So extensive was the destruction that the Patna Municipal Corporation had to be called in to unclog the choked drains.

This raid has quickly become political ammunition. The state's leader of opposition and former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, in a sharply worded X post, accused the ruling NDA alliance [comprising the BJP and chief minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U)] of presiding over an administration where “ashes of burnt notes now clog the city’s drains”. He has portrayed the incident as proof of systemic corruption thriving under the current regime.

मोदी-नीतीश के भ्रष्टाचार की अजब-गजब कहानी!

गंगा किनारे बसी बिहार की राजधानी पटना में रात 𝟏:𝟑𝟎 बजे एक शक्तिशाली मंत्री के करीबी इंजीनियर के घर 𝐄𝐎𝐔 की टीम पहुंची लेकिन इंजीनियर की पत्नी ने सुबह छह बजे तक गेट नहीं खोला।

इन चंद घंटों में लगभग 𝟏𝟎 करोड़ ₹ जलाकर सबूत मिटाने…

— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) August 25, 2025

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The Patna raid follows a string of similar operations in recent months. In July, the EOU targeted multiple locations linked to Pramod Kumar, an engineer with the Bihar State Educational Infrastructure Development Corporation. Investigators claim to have uncovered disproportionate assets worth Rs 3.54 crore, including fixed deposits, land records, vehicles, and cash. Kumar has reportedly gone into hiding.

Separately, the Special Vigilance Unit (SVU) swooped down on district education officer Rajnikant Praveen in January, seizing assets estimated at nearly Rs 1.87 crore. The raids extended across several districts, yielding unaccounted cash, luxury items, and documents pointing to property ownership far beyond his official income. Praveen has since been suspended and reassigned, pending further inquiry.

In yet another case earlier this year, the EOU raided the premises of an executive officer in Siwan, unearthing crores in disproportionate assets. Officials found bank deposits, land deeds, and significant cash holdings, once again raising questions about how such vast fortunes are amassed within state service.

From rural works engineers to education officers, the investigations reveal not just occasional irregularities but what appears to be an entrenched culture of graft. Each raid uncovers assets in crores, often hidden in plain sight — stuffed into cupboards, pipes, tanks, or hastily set alight when investigators arrive.

As Bihar moves closer to the 2025 Assembly elections, Tejashwi Yadav and the Opposition are using these scandals to sharpen their attacks on the government. For citizens, however, the imagery of burnt currency choking city drains has already become a metaphor for a state where corruption seems no longer hidden behind closed doors.

With agency inputs