Bhubaneswar: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the state Crime Branch Tuesday arrested a senior officer of Odisha Construction Corporation limited (OCCL) on charges of misappropriating funds worth Rs 3.1 crore.
The accused Biswajit Biswal is senior manager (civil) of OCCL.
According to sources, Industrial Development Corporation of Odisha (IDCO) granted a contract to OCCL for building the internal road of Info Valley on the outskirts of the city 2017. Valued at Rs 12.5 crore, the project was scheduled to be completed by April 21, 2018. Biswal was authorised to sign the agreement and complete other formalities on behalf of OCCL. He was also authorised to operate OCCL’s bank accounts in State Bank of India, Priyadarshini Market branch, and ICICI Bank.
The Managing Director of the corporation entrusted Biswal to execute the construction of the road. Later, the authorities deposited Rs 3.15 crore in the accounts as per the request of Biswal to begin the construction work.
However, Biswal, being the authorised signatory, withdrew money amounting to Rs 3.10 crore from the accounts. He transferred the money to other accounts leaving a paltry Rs 5 lakh in the construction accounts which was a complete violation of the rules and guidelines.
He failed to produce any voucher or utilisation certificate for the expenditure. Later, the higher authorities in OCCL carried out a probe into the matter and found him guilty.
Bibhuti Bhusan Sahoo, the secretary of OCCL, lodged a complaint with the EOW August 21. EOW arrested Biswal after registering a case under sections 420 and 409 of the IPC. He was sent to judicial custody after being produced before the SDJM court here Tuesday.
