The house will be converted into a school for underprivileged children.
The three-storey house of suspended IAS official Shiv Shankar Verma located in a posh area in the state capital was seized on Sunday evening by state government officials on the directive of the court.
Verma, a former minor irrigation secretary, is accused of amassing assets worth Rs14.4 million (Dh1.1 million) disproportionate to his known source of income.
Crucial phase
"Our fight against corruption has entered a very crucial phase. For long, I have been awaiting eagerly when the first such school will be opened in the house of the corrupt officials," Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar told reporters hours after authorities took possession of Verma's house yesterday.
Stating that the Verma case has proven that no one can conceal his ill-acquired properties, the chief minister said his government had made such arrangement that no official could now think of getting involved in corrupt practices even in his dreams.
"We will confiscate such ill-gotten properties and open schools for children. After all, this is the money of the people acquired through illegal means," Kumar said.
Verma is the first government official to face severe action for allegedly being involved in corrupt practices since the state government passed the Bihar Special Court Act in 2009.
The law allows the state government to take over properties of officials accused of corruption during the case trial.
The operation to seize the IAS official's property began on Sunday morning when a team of the local Patna district administration posted a notice on Verma's house and called on people inside to open the locked gates. The raiding team warned those inside that they will be forced to break open the lock after seven hours. As the deadline lapsed, the authorities were forced to enter the compound and implement the seizure order.
In July 2007, Special Vigilance Unit detectives raided Verma's house, and confiscated cash and properties worth Rs14.4 million.
Among those seized were: a 9.5kg gold bar, 800 guineas (gold coins), $1,600 (Dh5,875) cash, jewellery worth Rs8.1 million, investments in share markets worth Rs2 million and Rs1.65 million in cash. In March this year, the court ordered the confiscation of Verma's bungalow. Verma then went to the Patna High Court and sought a reprieve, but his appeal got rejected his appeal.
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