Two Odisha govt officials arrested in Rs 3.02-crore misappropriation case

Bhubaneswar, Aug 13 (AHN) The Odisha Vigilance has cracked down on a major financial fraud case involving government officials over the alleged misappropriation of public funds to the tune of Rs 3.02 crore in Jagatsinghpur district, officials said.

In this connection, two former officials of Tirtol block in Jagatsinghpur district were arrested by the Vigilance sleuths on Thursday.

The accused persons were identified as Bhanja Kishore Behera, former Senior Revenue Assistant (SRA) of Tirtol block, currently posted as SRA at Naugaon Tahasil; and Pradipta Kumar Mallik, Ex-Panchayat Executive Officer (PEO) of Tirtol Block (Retired) in Jagatsinghpur district.

"During an extensive investigation spanning financial years 2011–12 through 2021–22, the Odisha Vigilance uncovered a systematically executed financial fraud centred at the Tirtol Block office by Bhanja Kishore Behera, former SRA; Pradipta Kumar Mallik, former PEO, and late Rajdeep Hansda, former Assistant Executive Engineer, all of Tirtol Block," a senior Vigilance official told.

The Vigilance sleuths during the probe also ascertained that all three accused officials had misappropriated government funds worth Rs 3,02,95,000 by fabrication and tampering of government salary registers and disbursal documents.

It was further revealed that they prepared and submitted inflated and fraudulent salary bills well beyond sanctioned budget allocations and transferred the embezzled amount straight into their personal Savings Bank accounts. In this connection, Odisha Vigilance has registered a case (30/26) at the Kataka Vigilance Police station on August 12 under sections 13(2), 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, and Sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, 34 of the IPC.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has recently dismissed Patitapaban Barik, posted at Gurandi Community Health Centre (CHC) in Gajapati district.

The decision came after Barik was found guilty in a corruption case registered during his tenure as the Medical Officer of Gurundia Community Health Centre (CHC) in Sundargarh district.

The Chief Minister has directed the administration at all levels to adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption. He has repeatedly said that no corrupt official will be spared.