Bhubaneswar, March 19 – The Odisha Vigilance arrested the main accused and his wife on Thursday in a case involving the embezzlement of ₹5.56 crore from government funds.
"The main accused in the ₹5.56 crore misappropriation case, Pradip Kr Mohanty, a retired headmaster who was re-employed at the BEO Office after retirement, along with his wife Gitarani Mohanty, who were on the run and changing locations in Odisha and West Bengal, were apprehended by a team of Odisha Vigilance early this morning," a senior vigilance official informed on Thursday.
Following suspicions that the accused couple were hiding in Kolkata, a team from Odisha Vigilance rushed to the city and conducted raids at suspected hideouts. Anticipating police action, the couple left Kolkata on Wednesday night and went into hiding at a hotel in Charampa, a district in Odisha, from where they were apprehended early this morning.
"They are currently being questioned in the case. The misappropriated funds were transferred to the personal accounts of Pradip Mohanty, his wife, and his son, Matruprasad Mohanty (who was arrested yesterday), among others," said Odisha Vigilance sources.
The accused, Matruprasad Mohanty, was the Branch Head of Jana Small Finance Bank in Bhadrak. The fraud took place at the office of the Block Education Officer (BEO) in Korei, Jajpur district, resulting in a total loss of ₹5,56,11,495.
"The investigation by Odisha Vigilance revealed a sophisticated collaboration between the accused, Matruprasad, and his father, Pradip Kumar Mohanty, a retired headmaster who was re-employed at the BEO office," said a senior Vigilance official.
During his re-employment at the BEO office, Pradip Kumar allegedly gained unauthorized access to the Human Resource Management System (HRMS) and targeted the IDs of 13 retired teachers who are pensioners.
By falsifying official records to show these retirees as still "active" in service, he generated and processed monthly pension bills in their names. Using this fraudulent method over an extended period, he siphoned off funds and routed the money through a series of transactions. The funds were ultimately diverted into bank accounts held by him and his family members across various branches of the State Bank of India, concealing the trail.
The fraud spanned nearly six years, from November 2018 to September 2024. Vigilance sources said that after the fraud came to light, the Education Department referred the matter to Odisha Vigilance. Subsequently, Odisha Vigilance initiated an investigation and arrested Matruprasad on Wednesday.