Bhubaneswar, 10 October (H.S.): Odisha Vigilance has arrested three more government employees, including a senior accountant at the District Treasury Office, Bhubaneswar, in connection with the alleged misappropriation of ₹9.24 crore from the office of the Superintending Engineer, Roads and Buildings (R&B) Division-I, Bhubaneswar.

The accused have been identified as Krushna Chandra Behera, senior accountant at the District Treasury Office; Biswanath Das, senior assistant at R&B Division, Puri; and Kumud Sahoo, a peon at R&B Division-I, Bhubaneswar. They were produced before the Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar.

According to investigators, Behera allegedly received ₹3.90 lakh through 11 PhonePe transactions from the prime accused, junior assistant Bibhudutta Nayak, between March 2025 and July 2026 to facilitate the clearance of fraudulent bills. Das allegedly provided bank account details belonging to himself, his mother and a relative to receive misappropriated funds. Around ₹50 lakh, ₹37 lakh and ₹15 lakh were reportedly credited to the respective accounts.

Sahoo allegedly provided his wife’s bank account details, into which ₹11.25 lakh was credited as provisional gratuity. He is accused of transferring the amount to his own account and withdrawing it in cash in three instalments.

Earlier, on September 27, six people, including section officer Banalata Mohanty and junior assistant Bibhudutta Nayak, were arrested in the case.

A case has been registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The investigation is continuing.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda