EOU Raids On Bihar Police DSP Yields Tea Gardens And Bullion
Kishanganj SDPO Gautam Kumar joined the Bihar Police as a sub-inspector in 1994 and amassed a fortune in 32 years of service.
By Dev Raj
Published : March 31, 2026 at 5:02 PM IST
|Updated : March 31, 2026 at 5:13 PM IST
Patna: What would you think if a police officer without any other viable source of income owns tea gardens in Darjeeling and Siliguri, palatial buildings, several plots of land, jewellery, a hoard of silver and gold coins, luxury watches of foreign make, bank deposits, huge investments in various instruments, and cash?
These were part of the ill-gotten wealth acquired by Kishanganj Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) (equivalent to a DSP) Gautam Kumar. He joined the Bihar Police as a sub-inspector in 1994 and amassed a fortune in 32 years of service.
When the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) knocked at his residence on Tuesday morning, the colour drained from his face. He was in shorts and an undershirt and could not believe his eyes as the anti-corruption sleuths unravelled the illicit empire he had built while serving as a police officer.
“This particular officer came on our radar during Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Seemanchal (Northeastern Bihar). Our Deputy Inspector General (DIG) represented us there. It came to light during the meetings that Kishanganj’s performance was miserable in checking crime, narcotics, contraband items and other things,” EOU Additional Director General (ADG) NH Khan told ETV Bharat.
“We thought to probe this further. Discreet enquiries revealed that the SDPO was one of the reasons behind Kishanganj’s poor performance. We found out more about his conduct. Once certain, we moved in,” Khan added. Incidentally, Gautam had such clout that he never got transferred out of Seemanchal districts – Kishanganj, Araria, Karihar and Purnea – during his entire career. He kept getting promotions and postings in the area.
The EOU registered an FIR (no. 03/26) at its police station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (Amended 2018) against Gautam on March 29. Simultaneous raids were launched at six of his residential and official premises in Patna, Purnea and Kishanganj. Movable and immovable assets worth several crores of rupees have been unearthed so far.
“These include precious stones, jewellery, gold and silver coins, foreign currency, and high-end watches. In fact, converting cash into bullion is a noticeable common pattern in Nepal, which shares a border with Kishanganj. The practice is adopted by people who indulge in corruption,” Khan said.
The EOU conducted another simultaneous raid on six locations connected to the Saharsa district rural development agency (DRDA) Director Vaibhav Kumar over allegations of corruption. Disproportionate assets around Rs 2.5 crore were recovered from Vaibhav's residential and official premises in Saharsa and Muzaffarpur. These included jewellery, bullion, immovable property, bank deposits, insurance policies and cash.
The raids at both places were still going on at the time of filing the report. Around 200 EOU and police personnel, led by two Assistant Superintendents of Police, were participating in it. The agency believes that the recovery of illicit wealth from the two officers will rise further once the operation is over.
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