Odisha Vigilance has uncovered a massive embezzlement operation at the Office of the Superintending Engineer, Roads & Buildings (R&B) Division-I, Bhubaneswar, leading to the arrest of two officials.
The accused allegedly siphoned off Rs 9,24,10,193 in public funds between the financial years 2022-23 and 2025-26.
The principal accused have been identified as Banalata Mohanty, Section Officer, and Bibhudutta Nayak, Junior Assistant, both attached to the Establishment Section of the R&B Division-I.
According to Vigilance officials, the duo orchestrated the multi-crore fraud by generating fake sanction orders and bills. These fraudulent claims were systematically processed in the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) under the guise of provisional gratuity, unutilized leave salary for retired employees, and illegitimate claims against the office contingency fund.
While processing the bills, the accused bypassed genuine beneficiary details and substituted them with the bank account numbers of their relatives, acquaintances, and staff. Investigators revealed that the misappropriated government money was diverted into 77 different bank accounts belonging to 48 individuals. These account holders included Mohanty’s son and driver, as well as Nayak’s brothers and other associates. Once the funds were credited, the accomplices either transferred the money back to the primary accused or withdrew it as cash to hand over to them.
Following the detection of the anomaly and the initiation of a preliminary enquiry, administrative authorities managed to recover Rs 3.96 crore of the stolen funds.
The Bhubaneswar Vigilance Division has registered PS Case No. 21 against Mohanty, Nayak, and several unnamed accomplices. The charges have been filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and Sections 316(5), 318(4), 336(3), 338, 340(2), and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
Further investigations are currently underway to uncover the full extent of the conspiracy and identify any additional perpetrators involved, the Vigilance said.
