On Saturday, Odisha Vigilance arrested Debananda Sagar, a suspended Panchayat Executive Officer (PEO), on charges of embezzling Rs3.26 crore of government funds, which were allegedly used for cricket betting.
Debananda, formerly the PEO for Podapadar and Talnegi Gram Panchayats (GP) in the Thuamul-Rampur Block of Kalahandi district, misused his official position to siphon off funds between 2018 and 2022. The amount embezzled includes Rs1.71 crore from Talnegi GP and Rs1.55 crore from Podapadar GP, primarily from 15 CFC and 5th SFC accounts of the GPs. Sagar allegedly forged the signature of the Sarpanch and used cheques and online transfers through the Public Finance Management System (PFMS) to channel the funds into his personal account at the SBI, Dharamgarh Bazar Branch in Kalahandi.
Sagar had been posted as the PEO at Talnegi GP on July 4, 2016, and additionally served as the I/c PEO of Podapadar GP. During this time, he diverted government funds to online cricket betting through the FAIRPLAY portal. The fraud was carried out over a period from May 5, 2018, to March 17, 2022.
This arrest follows previous charges in 2023 when Debananda Sagar was accused of embezzling Rs1.04 crore while serving as the PEO for Badachhatrang, Birikot, and Pahadpadar GPs under Lanjigarh Block, also in Kalahandi. He was suspended following these earlier allegations.
Further investigations by the Vigilance Directorate have led to two more corruption cases being filed under sections 13 (2) r/w 13 (1) (a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended by the PC (Amendment) Act, 2018.
