Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance sleuths on Monday arrested Bijay Kumar Agrawal, a special class contractor, and his power of attorney holder Deepak Kumar Agrawal for alleged misappropriation of government funds in the construction of four 100-bedded hostels for SC Students in Sonepur district.
This matter relates to a case registered against the accused persons as well as government officials by Odisha Vigilance vide Vigilance Cell police station on August 28 under Section 13(2)r/w 13(1)(a) of Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, and Sections 2018/406/409/420/120-B IPC.
The duo had absconded from their residence at Bolangir since the initiation of Vigilance inquiry into the matter. They were apprehended by a team of Odisha Vigilance from Rourkela and are now being examined at the Vigilance Cell Division Office at Cuttack.
A release issued by Odisha Vigilance read, “Based on reliable inputs regarding misappropriation of funds and substandard work in the construction of four 100-bedded hostels in Sonepur district, Technical Inspection of all the four buildings was conducted by Vigilance Technical Wing. During preliminary surface technical evaluation, large-scale cracks, seepages, low width of roof plaster, use of poor quality wood materials against prescribed sal wood, use of non-standard low quality electrical and sanitary fittings instead of prescribed branded products, and many other defects/deviations were detected, resulting in huge loss to the government exchequer.”
Further report follows.
