A bank officer in Odisha has been arrested for a fraud of over Rs 5 crore after being caught by authorities.

In Bhubaneswar, a bank officer was arrested by the Odisha Vigilance Department on Wednesday for his involvement in embezzling government funds worth over Rs 5 crore. According to officials, the accused was the head of a small finance bank in Bhadrak district, Odisha. The fraudulent activities took place at the office of the Block Education Officer in Korei, Jajpur, resulting in a total loss of Rs 5.56 crore.

The Vigilance Department, in a statement, stated that they discovered the accused had been working with his father to commit this crime. Interestingly, the accused's father, who is a retired headmaster, had been re-engaged at the BEO in Korei. He illegally accessed the Human Resource Management System and targeted the IDs of 13 retired teachers, as mentioned in the statement.

Shockingly, this fraud had been going on for almost six years, from November 2018 to September 2024. It was only during an audit that the authorities were able to detect it. The accused's father, who is the main suspect, is currently on the run, and the department is making all possible efforts to apprehend him.

In the meantime, the Odisha Vigilance Department has made it clear that they will not tolerate such corrupt activities and will take strict action against those involved. It is indeed a sad state of affairs when government officials stoop to such low levels for personal gain. As Odisha's No.1 English Daily, Orissa POST will continue to bring you updates on this case as it unfolds.