Bhubaneswar, Aug 6 (IANS) Odisha Vigilance on Thursday arrested three persons, including a former Junior Engineer (JE), a Municipal Engineer (ME) and a private contractor, for their alleged involvement in the misappropriation of over Rs 55.69 lakh in the Pattanaik Tank reclamation and renovation project at Paralakhemundi in Gajapati district of the state.
The accused were identified as D. Yudhistir, Ex-Junior Engineer; Sanjeev Champati, Municipal Engineer; and Surendra Panigrahi, private contractor.
According to an official press release, the arrests followed an extensive investigation by the officials of the anti-corruption agency into alleged financial irregularities in the Reclamation and Renovation of Pattanaik Tank project executed between 2019 and 2022.
“The extensive investigation by Odisha Vigilance revealed a planned misappropriation of government funds amounting to Rs 55,69,033 through fake measurement book (MB) entries and sub-standard project execution,” reads the official statement.
The probe found that a total of Rs 1,22,40,700 was disbursed to the contractor through three Running Account (RA) bills after statutory tax deductions. During the course of investigation, the Vigilance sleuths reportedly found that the former Junior Engineer, Yudhistir, deliberately made false and inflated entries in the official Measurement Books (MBs), certifying work that was either not executed or carried out below the prescribed standard.
The false measurements were subsequently verified and endorsed as correct by the Municipal Engineer Champati during the mandatory check measurement process, despite the alleged discrepancies. Based on these certified measurements, the entire project amount was released to contractor Surendra Panigrahi, the Vigilance said.
A subsequent independent technical assessment conducted by Odisha Vigilance reportedly established that work valued at Rs 55,69,033 had either not been executed or was of substandard quality, resulting in a loss of the equivalent amount to the state exchequer.
Following the findings, Odisha Vigilance registered a case (07/2026) at the Brahmapur Vigilance Police Station against the three accused under Sections 13(2) and 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, along with Sections 120-B, 409, 420, 468, 471 and 477-A of the Indian Penal Code.
–IANS
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