In a dramatic crackdown on financial fraud, the Odisha Vigilance Department on Thursday arrested Sushree Nibedita Tarai and her live-in partner, Nrusingh Prasad Khamari, for their alleged role in siphoning off more than Rs 1.08 crore in government funds from the Koraput Central Co-operative (KCC) Bank in Malkangiri.
The arrests come just days after the bank’s Branch Manager, Sudhansu Khora, was taken into custody on May 4 and remains in police remand. Vigilance officials say Khora funnelled nearly Rs 63 lakhs of the embezzled money directly to the couple as part of a calculated conspiracy to cover their tracks.
What makes the case even more sensational is how it all began: on Facebook. Khora reportedly connected with Tarai, who used the profile name Sushree Sulagna, and the two quickly hatched a plan to divert bank funds. Khamari, who has been in a live-in relationship with Tarai for years, is also accused of being a full partner in the scheme.
Interrogation has revealed the duo were no ordinary opportunists—they appear to be seasoned racketeers. Police suspect them in multiple other frauds, including a Rs 14 lakh case registered with the Bangalore Police Commissionerate involving Khamari, a Rs 30 lakh scam in Jagatsinghpur, and similar offences believed to have been committed in Baripada, Paradeep, and Bhubaneswar.
Vigilance teams are now scrutinising 25 bank accounts and 12 stock trading accounts linked to the pair in a bid to trace the full money trail. Raids on their properties in Bhubaneswar and Khordha yielded a haul that reads like a heist movie: 33 mobile phones (27 deliberately damaged after the crimes to destroy evidence), a desktop computer, a tablet, expensive jewellery bought with stolen money, a drone, and high-end cameras.
Authorities have initiated steps to freeze the bank accounts and share-market investments of all three accused—Khora, Tarai, and Khamari. A case has been registered at Koraput Vigilance Police Station (Case Nos. 4 & 5/2026) under sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The couple has been forwarded to court.
Vigilance sources indicate that Tarai and Khora may have been running a larger crime syndicate, and the probe is expanding rapidly. More arrests and revelations are expected in the coming days.
