Bhubaneswar: An assistant accountant of Nuapada Notified Area Council (NAC) has been arrested for allegedly misappropriating government funds worth Rs 20.89 lakh by forging the signature of the civic body’s Executive Officer (EO) on cheques and transferring the money to his personal bank account. The accused allegedly spent a substantial portion of the embezzled amount on online Aviator gaming.
The arrested employee, identified as Gopal Mahananda, was working as an assistant accountant at Nuapada NAC. He was arrested following a complaint lodged by NAC Executive Officer Sandeep Chandrakar and produced before a court late Thursday night.
According to the complaint, the state government had sanctioned Rs 50 lakh around eight years ago for the construction and renovation of the Nuapada bus stand. As the project funds remained unutilised, the amount continued to remain in the NAC’s bank account.
Police said Mahananda allegedly took advantage of the situation and withdrew money without the EO’s authorisation. He reportedly forged the officer’s signature on 16 cheques and prepared fake official correspondence to facilitate unauthorised transfers into his personal account.
Preliminary investigation has revealed around 20 suspicious transactions involving Rs 20,89,799. The alleged fraud came to light when Chandrakar detected the irregularities and questioned the accountant. Mahananda subsequently deposited Rs 3.40 lakh back into the government account, while the remaining amount of around Rs 17.50 lakh remained unaccounted for.
On November 4, Chandrakar lodged a written complaint at Nuapada police station, following which a case was registered and an investigation initiated under the supervision of police station officer Gangadhar Meher.
A special police team examined the NAC’s financial records and seized relevant documents. Investigators reportedly found that the accused had spent a substantial portion of the allegedly misappropriated money on online Aviator games.
Police said Mahananda was arrested and further investigation is underway to ascertain the full extent of the alleged financial fraud and trace the missing funds.
