Bhubaneswar: In a major crackdown on corruption and misappropriation of public funds, the Odisha Vigilance on Thursday arrested a former Junior Engineer (JE), a Municipal Engineer, and a private contractor in connection with alleged financial irregularities in the reclamation and renovation of Pattanaik Tank at Paralakhemundi in Gajapati district.According to release issued by the Vigilance, an extensive investigation uncovered a planned fraud involving the alleged misappropriation of Rs 55.69 lakh through fake entries in official Measurement Books (MBs) and sub-standard execution of the project.The project was executed between 2019 and 2022, during which a total of Rs 1,22,40,700 was disbursed to the contractor through three Running Account (RA) bills after statutory tax deductions.The investigation found that former Junior Engineer D. Yudhistir allegedly recorded deliberately inflated and false measurements in the official Measurement Books for work that out below the required standards.Municipal Engineer Sanjeev Champati allegedly endorsed and certified the false measurements as correct during official check measurements, enabling the release of paymentsBased on these allegedly fraudulent records, the full project amount of Rs 1.22 crore was paid to contractor Surendra Panigrahi.An independent technical assessment conducted by Odisha Vigilance later concluded that work worth Rs 55,69,033 was either sub-standard or not executed, resulting in an equivalent loss to the state exchequer.Following the findings, Odisha Vigilance registered Brahmapur Vigilance Police Station Case No. 07/2026 against the three accused under sections 13(2) r/w13 (1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, along with charges under sections 120-B/409/420/468/471/477-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) related to criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery, use of forged documents and falsification of accounts.The arrested accused have been identified as former Junior Engineer D. Yudhistir, Municipal Engineer Sanjeev Champati, and contractor Surendra Panigrahi. All three are being produced before the court on Thursday.Odisha Vigilance said the investigation is continuing to ascertain whether more individuals were involved in the alleged fraud and to examine other aspects of the case.
Odisha Vigilance arrests Ex-JE, Municipal Engineer and Contractor in Rs 55.69 lakh Pattanaik tank renovation fraud
