Phulbani, July 1: A major corruption case under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has surfaced in Odisha's Kandhamal district, with the Vigilance Department arresting two engineers for allegedly misappropriating over ₹38 lakh through fake bills.
The accused, Assistant Engineer (AE) Prashant Kumar Patra and Junior Engineer (JE) Prafulla Kumar Behera of Kotagarh Block, were arrested by the Phulbani Vigilance team following an investigation into alleged financial irregularities in Dharakote Gram Panchayat.
According to Vigilance officials, the accused, along with other block-level officials, allegedly conspired to siphon off government funds by preparing fake MGNREGA bills, resulting in the embezzlement of more than ₹38 lakh.
Earlier, the Kandhamal District Collector had suspended Dharakote Panchayat Executive Officer (PEO) Sutanya Mahakud and Kotagarh Block Assistant Development Officer (ADO) Kanshiram Digal in connection with the same case.
The matter was subsequently referred to the Vigilance Department by the Zilla Parishad for a detailed probe. Following the investigation, the Vigilance team found sufficient evidence against the two engineers and arrested them.
Confirming the development, Phulbani Vigilance DSP Hemanta Kumar Mohanty said the arrests were made after the investigation established the alleged involvement of the two officials in the MGNREGA fund misappropriation. He added that further investigation is underway to ascertain the role of other officials and uncover the full extent of the scam.
