Odisha Vigilance arrests 6 R&B officials in ₹9.24 crore embezzlement case
Synopsis
Six employees of Odisha's Roads and Buildings Division allegedly ran a four-year fraud — using fake sanction orders and forged IFMS transactions to funnel over ₹9.24 crore into 77 bank accounts belonging to 48 relatives and associates. Odisha Vigilance has so far recovered ₹3.96 crore; the rest remains at large.
Key Takeaways
Odisha Vigilance arrested six R&B Division employees in Bhubaneswar on 27 September 2026 .
The alleged embezzlement totalled ₹9,24,10,193 , carried out between FY 2022-23 and FY 2025-26 .
Fraudulent bills were processed via the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) using fake sanction orders and substituted bank account numbers.
77 bank accounts belonging to 48 individuals — including relatives and associates of the primary accused — were used to receive funds.
The R&B Division has so far recovered ₹3.96 crore of the total misappropriated amount.
All six accused were produced before the Vigilance Court of the Special Judge in Bhubaneswar on the same day.
Odisha Vigilance on Sunday, 27 September 2026, arrested six employees of the Roads and Buildings (R&B) Division under the state Works Department in Bhubaneswar for their alleged role in embezzling government funds amounting to ₹9,24,10,193 (over ₹9.24 crore). The accused were produced before the Vigilance Court of the Special Judge in Bhubaneswar the same day.
Who Was Arrested
The six accused have been identified as Dipak Kumar Routray, Laxman Biswal, Rajib Lochan Senapati, and Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra — all currently posted at the office of the Superintending Engineer (SE) of R&B Division in Bhubaneswar. The other two — Section Officer Banalata Mohanty and Junior Assistant Bibhudutta Nayak — had been apprehended earlier by Vigilance officials and were formally arrested on Sunday.
Dipak Kumar and Laxman reportedly work as peons in the SE's office, while Rajib Lochan and Soumya Ranjan are private Data Entry Operators allegedly engaged by Section Officer Banalata in the same establishment.
How the Fraud Was Carried Out
According to Odisha Vigilance, the investigation found that between financial years 2022-23 and 2025-26, Banalata and Bibhudutta — in collusion with other staffers in the Establishment Section — allegedly generated fake sanction orders and bills. These fraudulent bills pertained to provisional gratuity, unutilised leave salary in the names of retired employees, and ingenuine claims against the office contingency fund.
The accused allegedly processed these forged bills through the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) to siphon government money. Critically, while genuine bills carried authentic beneficiary bank details, the forged bills contained substituted account numbers belonging to relatives and acquaintances of the accused.
Scale of the Network
Odisha Vigilance stated that a total of 77 bank accounts belonging to 48 individuals — including the son, driver, and associates of Banalata, and brothers and relatives of Bibhudutta — were used to receive the misappropriated funds. The account holders subsequently transferred a portion of the money back to the primary accused or withdrew cash to hand it over to them, according to the Vigilance agency.
Recovery and Legal Action
Following detection of the fraud, the administrative authority in the R&B Division has so far managed to recover ₹3.96 crore of the total misappropriated amount. A case has been registered against the six accused under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. All six were sent to the Vigilance Court of the Special Judge in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.
This case underscores the vulnerability of digital payment systems such as IFMS to insider fraud when internal controls are inadequate — and raises questions about oversight gaps that allowed the scheme to continue across four financial years before detection.
Point of View
Exploiting the IFMS precisely because the platform's controls were not matched by adequate audit oversight. The use of 77 accounts belonging to 48 people reveals a broad support network, suggesting the fraud was well-organised rather than opportunistic. The fact that only ₹3.96 crore of ₹9.24 crore has been recovered raises a pointed question: where did the rest go, and was the network wider than the six now in custody?
NationPress
27 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Odisha Vigilance ₹9.24 crore embezzlement case about?
It is an alleged government fund fraud in which six employees of Odisha's Roads and Buildings Division in Bhubaneswar are accused of generating fake sanction orders and forged bills to siphon over ₹9.24 crore between FY 2022-23 and FY 2025-26. The funds were routed through 77 bank accounts belonging to relatives and associates of the accused.
Who are the six accused arrested by Odisha Vigilance?
The six accused are Dipak Kumar Routray, Laxman Biswal, Rajib Lochan Senapati, Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra, Section Officer Banalata Mohanty, and Junior Assistant Bibhudutta Nayak — all linked to the office of the Superintending Engineer of R&B Division in Bhubaneswar.
How was the IFMS used in the alleged fraud?
According to Odisha Vigilance, the accused illegally processed fraudulent bills — including fake provisional gratuity and leave salary claims in the names of retired employees — through the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS). They substituted genuine beneficiary bank details with account numbers of relatives and acquaintances to divert payments.
How much of the embezzled money has been recovered?
The administrative authority in the R&B Division has so far recovered ₹3.96 crore of the total alleged embezzlement of ₹9.24 crore, according to Odisha Vigilance. The remainder is yet to be traced.
Under which laws have the accused been charged?
Odisha Vigilance has registered the case under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. All six accused were produced before the Vigilance Court of the Special Judge in Bhubaneswar on 27 September 2026.
