Odisha Vigilance Arrests Retired Headmaster and Wife in ₹5.56 Crore Pension Fraud Case

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance has arrested Pradip Kr Mohanty, a retired headmaster, and his wife Gitarani Mohanty in connection with a massive pension fraud worth Rs

Rs 5.56 crore.

The couple, who had been absconding for months, frequently shifted locations across Odisha and West Bengal to evade arrest.

Vigilance officials suspected their presence in Kolkata but eventually tracked them down at a hotel in Charampa, Bhadrak.

Investigations revealed that Pradip Mohanty, while re‑engaged at the Block Education Office after retirement, misappropriated pension funds by diverting them into accounts belonging to himself, his wife, his son Matruprasad Mohanty (already arrested), and other associates.

The Vigilance department is currently interrogating the couple to trace the flow of funds and identify additional beneficiaries.

Officials say the case exposes serious lapses in pension disbursement monitoring and underscores the need for tighter financial oversight.