Cuttack: In connection with an alleged embezzlement of funds to the tune of Rs 2 crore, the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) Sunday lodged an FIR with Purighat police against former Deputy Secretary Nirmal Chandra Nayak and erstwhile caretaker Pradeep Samal.
Nayak and Samal were accused by the civic body for misappropriating public funds when the former was officer-in-charge of Kalyan Mandap and Saheed Bhawan in Cuttack and the latter was a caretaker.
According to the FIR, Nayak during his incumbency from February 1, 2009 till superannuation in 2012 and re-employment from July 18, 2012 up to July 7, 2016 swindled funds on pretext of booking the premises.
Also read: Maoist gunned down in exchange of fire with security personnel
Nayak had allegedly developed an unholy nexus with Samal and by making use of fabricated money receipts and tampering several official records, the duo allegedly committed the scam which was detected during a departmental audit in 2016, the FIR of the civic body mentioned.
Following the audit, a petitioner had moved the Odisha Lokayukta in connection with the scam seeking action against the accused CMC officials Nayak and Samal. Recently, after hearing the petition, the Lokayukta ordered the civic body to lodge an FIR with police.
When contacted, Cuttack DCP Prateek Singh said, “We are in receipt of a report and a probe into the alleged scam will be carried out.”
Notably, no official proceeding was initiated or FIR was lodged earlier against the former deputy secretary Nayak. However, some councillors had urged the erstwhile Commissioner to take appropriate administrative actions against him and Samal.
PNN
