Odisha Vigilance arrests Forest Dept official for Rs 55 lakh embezzlement

Bhubaneswar, Jan 2 (IANS) Odisha Vigilance on Friday arrested a Forest Department official on charges of embezzling government funds to the tune of over Rs 55 lakh.

The accused has been identified as Jaya Kumar Juad, currently posted as a forester at the office of the Forest Range Officer, Biswanathpur, under Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district.

Juad was arrested for allegedly misappropriating government funds amounting to Rs 55,04,607 by preparing fake muster rolls and vouchers in connection with Soil and Moisture Conservation (SMC) works at plantation sites under the Thuamul Rampur Forest Section in Kalahandi district.

“The investigation has revealed systematic embezzlement of government funds amounting to Rs 55,04,607. The accused, while functioning as a forester, allegedly manipulated funds earmarked for Soil and Moisture Conservation works during the 2024–25 period,” Vigilance sources said.

The misappropriation involved high-priority environmental funds, including those under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), Compensatory Afforestation (CA), and Catchment Plan Area (CPA) schemes.

According to Vigilance officials, Juad, along with his accomplices, allegedly bypassed financial safeguards at three plantation sites in the Thuamul Rampur Forest Section by fabricating muster rolls using the names of non-existent labourers or by inflating work hours. He is also accused of forging vouchers by submitting false bills for materials and logistics that were never procured or utilised.

The accused forester has been booked under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and will be produced before the court.

Meanwhile, in a separate case, Odisha Vigilance arrested Adwaita Prasad Mallick, former Principal, and Badri Narayan Ray, former President of Chitalo Degree Mohavidyalaya in Jajpur district, in connection with another misappropriation case.

Mallick is currently serving as an Odia lecturer at the same institution. The duo was arrested for allegedly misappropriating public funds amounting to Rs 32,07,620 meant for the self-defence programme for girl students of the college.

gyan/pgh