Sonepur: Funds worth Rs 1.19 crore have been misappropriated from the bank account of Odisha Lift Irrigation Corporation (OLIC) office here in Subarnapur district allegedly by the assistant accountant of the office, a report said Monday. It is alleged that the assistant accountant Balaram Meher is behind the fraud in the office as he went absconding after the reports surfaced. OLIC Managing Director Sudhanshu Mohan Samal has ordered a probe into the fraud by a high-level team.
Meanwhile, the team launched an investigation into the matter while the state Vigilance Department launched a preliminary probe into the charges. The incident has spread shockwaves in the area. It is alleged that the funds sanctioned by the state government for installation of deep bore well and other lift irrigation projects were being deposited in the name of an executive engineer at the Sonepur branch of Union Bank. Assistant accountant Meher, instead of depositing the money in the Union Bank account, used fraudulent methods to transfer the amount to his account. It is alleged that he used ID, password, cheque and official seal of the executive engineer to transfer funds worth lakhs multiple times to his account. After reports surfaced, the executive engineer Prafulla Kumar Behera complained to Sonepur police station.
