₹5.56 Crore Embezzlement Case: Retired Headmaster Arrested by Odisha Vigilance

Bhubaneswar: In a major breakthrough in a high-value embezzlement case, Odisha Vigilance on Thursday arrested a retired headmaster accused of misappropriating government funds worth ₹5.56 crore.

The accused, identified as Pradip Kumar Mohanty, had been absconding along with his wife, Gitarani Mohanty, and was reportedly changing locations across Odisha and West Bengal to evade arrest. Acting on specific inputs, Vigilance officials tracked the couple’s movement from Kolkata to Bhadrak and apprehended them from a hotel early this morning.

Sources said Mohanty had been re-engaged at the Block Education Officer (BEO) office even after his retirement, which allegedly facilitated the fraudulent activities. He is currently being interrogated, and further details are expected to emerge during the course of investigation.

The case had earlier seen the arrest of Mohanty’s son, Matruprasad Mohanty, who was working as the Branch Head of Jana Small Finance Bank in Bhadrak. Investigators suspect a well-planned nexus between father and son in siphoning off public funds.

According to Vigilance findings, the embezzled money was routed into multiple personal accounts belonging to Pradip Mohanty, his wife, his son, and other associates. The fraud reportedly targeted the Office of the Block Education Officer in Korei block of Jajpur district, resulting in a loss exceeding ₹5.56 crore.

Preliminary investigation has revealed that Pradip Mohanty allegedly gained unauthorised access to the Human Resource Management System (HRMS) and manipulated official records. He is accused of reactivating the profiles of 13 retired teachers by falsely marking them as ‘active’ employees, thereby enabling the diversion of government funds.

Officials said the case reflects a sophisticated misuse of administrative systems and financial channels. Further investigation is underway to identify additional beneficiaries and unravel the full extent of the scam.