Odisha Vigilance arrested Assistant Engineer Prasanta Kumar Patra and Junior Engineer Prafulla Kumar Behera of Kotagarh Block, Kandhamal district, for siphoning off over Rs 42 lakhs from MGNREGS development funds. Both engineers will be produced in court today.
Investigators uncovered large-scale financial fraud in the Amrit Sarovar (Pond) project and allied works in Dharakote Gram Panchayat. The corruption spanned three fiscal years — 2023‑24 to 2025‑26. A joint physical verification and technical inspection revealed glaring discrepancies between official records and actual construction.
Documents showed payments of Rs 49,83,995 for completed projects, but technical evaluation confirmed work worth only Rs 7,42,357. The remaining Rs 42 lakhs were pocketed by the accused without executing corresponding work.
Under MGNREGS guidelines, geo‑tagged photographs are mandatory at each stage before bill clearance. The probe found that no such images were captured or uploaded. Odisha Vigilance registered Berhampur Vigilance P.S. Case No. 06/2026 under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018 and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against all accused.
Officials confirmed that the arrests mark a major step in the state’s ongoing drive against grassroots corruption. Vigilance teams continue to examine additional records and assets linked to the engineers.
