JAJPUR: A day after a banker was apprehended for allegedly embezzling government funds to the tune of Rs 5.56 crore, Vigilance officials on Thursday arrested his parents as the main accused in the case.
The accused are Pradip Kumar Mohanty (67) and his wife Gitarani Mohanty (62). A Vigilance team nabbed the couple from a hotel in Charampa area of Bhadrak district after tracking them across multiple locations in Odisha and West Bengal.
Officials of the anti-corruption agency had arrested the couple’s son Matruprasad Mohanty, the branch head of Jana Small Finance Bank in Bhadrak, on Wednesday.
Officials said Pradip was serving as a headmaster in a government high school under Korei block education office. After his retirement, he was re-engaged in the block education office seven years ago. His wife Gitarani is a homemaker.
Pradip in connivance with his banker son allegedly accessed the human resource management system (HRMS) of the School and Mass Education department illegally and showed 13 retired teachers as ‘active’ in service. He allegedly prepared monthly salary bills of Rs 5.56 crore in the names of the teachers and diverted the funds into bank accounts held by him, his wife and son, besides other family members.
“The father-son duo misappropriated government funds to the tune of Rs 5.56 crore in the names of 13 retired teachers over six years between November 2018 and September 2024,” said the officials.
After the misappropriation case came to fore, the couple absconded and was frequently changing their locations to evade arrest. The accused are being interrogated in connection with the case. Further investigation is underway to trace the money trail and identify other individuals involved in the fraud, the officials added.