Cuttack: Odisha vigilance on Thursday arrested a staffer of the district education office (DEO), Cuttack, for allegedly embezzling over Rs 51.53 lakh by fraudulently generating salaries in names of fake employees through manipulation of govt financial portals.The accused, identified as Subash Chandra Sahoo, was working in the accounts section of the DEO office in Cuttack and was responsible for maintaining the human resource management system (HRMS) and integrated financial management system (IFMS), said vigilance officials.Sahoo allegedly gained unauthorised access to the login credentials of the drawing and disbursing officer (DDO) and inserted names of four outsiders into the HRMS portal, projecting them as govt employees eligible for salary payments.The alleged fraud took place between Dec 31, 2018, and Oct 16, 2021. Vigilance officials said salaries were regularly generated in names of four outsiders and credited to their bank accounts. The money was then allegedly transferred to Sahoo’s personal account the same day.“The accused misused his official access to manipulate the HRMS and IFMS systems and siphon off govt funds in a planned manner. Financial transactions and digital records collected during the investigation established his involvement in the embezzlement,” said a senior vigilance officer.Following the probe, Odisha Vigilance registered Cuttack vigilance PS case no. 18/2026 against Sahoo under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018.Officials said further investigation is underway to ascertain whether any other persons were involved in the fraud or benefited from the illegal transactions.
