Berhampur: Two persons were arrested by the Odisha Police from Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district Tuesday for allegedly misappropriating Mission Shakti funds, officials said.
The main accused, Y Hemalata (37), used to work as master bookkeeper of the Gram Panchayat Level Federation (GPLF) of Mission Shakti in Odisha’s Ganjam district, they said.
She allegedly misappropriation around Rs 26 lakh for purchasing a car and a motorcycle, and some other purposes, they said.
She had managed to get the signatures of the authorised persons on some cheques and issued those in her name on the pretext that those would be used to withdraw cash in case of emergency, said SP (Berhampur) Saravana Vivek M.
She, however, misappropriated the funds, he said.
As the matter came to light, she fled with the help of her associate, S Mutyala Rao, the other person to be arrested in the case.
The SP said an investigation was underway to find if other persons were involved in the fraud.
