BHUBANESWAR: An employee of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) and two others were arrested on Thursday for allegedly forging signature to get compensation of Rs 1.16 crore granted in favour of a land loser and earning commission from it.
The accused are MCL employee Trilochan Dandasena (33), Swagat Prakash Baral (35) and Dusmant Patel (43). They had forged the signature of nodal officer of Claims Commission in Odisha State Housing Board (OSHB) Benudhar Dash.
Police said Trilochan had approached Mangasira Dhrua of Sundargarh and assured to help him get compensation for his land which was reportedly acquired by MCL. Trilochan asked Dhrua to give him commission after receiving the compensation money and the latter agreed to the proposal.
Trilochan then forged the signature of Dash and sent the order to ADM, MCL for sanction of Rs 1.16 crore to claimant Dhrua on the basis of a civil case passed in his favour. After the compensation amount was released, the accused allegedly took Rs 20 lakh from Dhrua through bank transfer and gave Rs 5 lakh to Dusmant, Rs 3 lakh to Swagat and provided another Rs 5 lakh to some other officials whose details are being verified by police.
The matter came to light following investigation on the basis of a complaint filed by Dash who is a retired IAS officer. Following the complaint, bank accounts of Dhrua and the accused persons have been freezed.
The accused were produced in court. Further investigation into the matter is on.