Deepak Mahato
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Feb 7: The Bolangir district police detained two people Saturday in connection with the swindling of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) funds.
The additional superintendent of police, Bolangir, Jugal Kishore Kumar Banoth, confirmed the development but refused to give details. “We are questioning them. It would be too early to comment in connection with the issue,” said Banoth.
A hacker had allegedly transferred online MGNREGS funds to several fake beneficiaries in Bolangir district. An official of the Bolangir police station said the accounts into which the money was transferred were opened in State Bank of India, Patnagarh.
Till now, the police have unearthed swindling of funds allotted to only the horticulture and forest departments. Police suspect an insider allegedly hacked the MGNREGS website. The state horticulture department has launched an internal probe to find out about the swindlers.
“We have asked for a detailed report in connection with the money transfers,” horticulture director Sushanto Mahananda said. The director said that stringent departmental action if any insider is found to be part of the illegal transfers. The horticulture department, after learning about the swindling of money, had lodged an FIR with the Bolangir police station . A special team, including cyber forensic experts, was formed by the district police to investigate the money swindling.
“We are trying to establish if the hackers have swiped money allotted to other departments under MNREGS,” said a police officer who is part of the investigation team.
“We are trying to find out the mole in the department who has helped the criminals in making fake accounts,” said the officer. The district police have questioned more than five officials of the horticulture department.
The police is trying to find out how the swindlers got into the secure website and authenticated the Digital Signature Certificate (DSC). Two employees have been designated for online payment of funds, according to horticulture department officials. “DSC of the employees is used as a security shield for payments,” said a horticulture official.
A horticulture official, on condition of anonymity, said that an internal probe has been launched to catch the culprits and find the faults in the system that helped the criminals swindle the money.