Three more Odisha government employees have been arrested in connection with the alleged misappropriation of around Rs 9.24 crore in public funds, taking the total number of apprehended persons in the case to nine, the state Vigilance department said on Saturday.
The latest arrests involve a senior accountant at the district treasury office in Bhubaneswar, a senior assistant at the Puri Road and Building Division of the Works Department, and a peon working at the Bhubaneswar Road and Building Division, according to the anti-corruption agency.
The case relates to alleged misappropriation of public money in the office of the Superintending Engineer, Roads and Buildings Division-I, Bhubaneswar. The Vigilance department has described the amount involved as around Rs 9.24 crore.
The employees were arrested as part of the ongoing investigation into the handling of funds linked to the government’s infrastructure administration. The departments and offices named in the case are connected to public finance controls and the management of road and building works, placing the alleged irregularities within the administrative chain that supports public construction and maintenance.
The Vigilance department did not provide the names of the three newly arrested employees in the information supplied by the agency. Their alleged involvement remains subject to investigation and due legal process.
Six other accused persons were arrested on September 27 and remanded to jail custody, the report said. With the latest arrests, nine people have now been apprehended in the case.
The case brings the functioning of internal financial controls in public works administration into focus. District treasuries, departmental offices and engineering divisions each handle different parts of the public expenditure process, making documentation, authorisation and oversight central to the use of government funds. The available information does not specify how the alleged misappropriation was carried out or identify the precise transactions under investigation.
The Odisha Vigilance department is continuing its investigation. Further details on the charges, the alleged role of each accused person and the status of the funds were not provided in the report.
