Odisha Vigilance Unearths ₹65.9 Lakh Embezzlement in Dhenkanal DFO Office; Three Arrested
Dhenkanal: Odisha Vigilance has unearthed an alleged embezzlement of ₹65.9 lakh from the office of the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Dhenkanal, leading to the arrest of three persons, including a senior clerk of the forest division.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Sujit Kumar Jena, Senior Clerk in the DFO office, Soumya Ranjan Behera, a staff member of the Elephant Squad under Sadar Range, and Rashmi Ranjan Swain, an associate allegedly linked to the financial irregularities.
According to Odisha Vigilance, the accused allegedly misappropriated government funds earmarked for salaries, retirement benefits, salary arrears, contingency expenditure and travel allowance claims.
The fraud reportedly involved diverting public money into personal bank accounts through unauthorised transactions.
Investigators found that substantial amounts had been transferred to accounts associated with the accused and their associates.
Vigilance officials stated that ₹8.72 lakh was transferred to the account of Sujit Kumar Jena’s mother, while ₹10.49 lakh and ₹8.86 lakh were routed to the accounts of Soumya Ranjan Behera and Rashmi Ranjan Swain, respectively.
Following the detection of the scam, the accused allegedly attempted to evade arrest.
However, Vigilance teams tracked their movements using technical intelligence and mobile phone location analysis before successfully apprehending them.
A case has been registered under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The accused were produced before the Special Judge, Vigilance, Dhenkanal.
Odisha Vigilance said further investigation is underway to determine whether additional individuals were involved in the alleged embezzlement and to trace the complete money trail.
