Bhubaneswar, June 25 (IANS) Odisha Vigilance on Thursday arrested three contractors for allegedly misappropriating government funds worth around Rs 3 crore in the execution of LED street lighting works in gram panchayats across Kendujhar, Nayagarh and Jajpur districts between 2021 and 2023.

The accused persons were identified as Girija Sankar Dash, of Baripada in Mayurbhanj district, Dharanidhar Sahoo of Jajpur town in Jajpur district and Bibhuti Ranjan Biswal of Bhubaneswar.

According to Odisha Vigilance sources, accused Girija Sankar is the proprietor of M/s Transpower, while the other accused, Dharanidhar and Bibhuti Ranjan, are the owners of M/s Biraja Electrical and Constructions and M/s Jogamaya Traders Pro, respectively.

They were arrested and forwarded to the respective Vigilance Courts for their alleged involvement in the misappropriation of government funds to the tune of Rs 3 crore for the installation of LED street lighting works (2021-2023).

In this connection, Odisha Vigilance has registered three separate cases at the Vigilance Cell Police Station under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and the Indian Penal Code against the accused persons.

During a thorough investigation, the above three executants, who were found to have been awarded contracts in the districts of Kendujhar, Nayagarh, and Jajpur, are the main accused in the misappropriation cases.

According to Odisha Vigilance, a preliminary estimate indicates misappropriation of approximately Rs 3 crore in the three districts. There are approximately 1,000 clusters (each consisting of 10 LED lights) in these three districts, where LED street lighting installations were executed using funds from the 5th State Finance Commission devolution grants from 2021 to 2023.

It further added that all these clusters are being technically examined by experts to generate evidence of shortfalls and misappropriation in each cluster. The cops also seized files related to the alleged scam to examine the mechanism for disbursing funds and the involvement of government servants in the scandal.

On Wednesday, following the receipt of reliable information, the Odisha Vigilance launched an inquiry into the alleged irregularities and embezzlement of public funds in connection with the installation of LED street lighting works across several gram panchayats in the districts of Kendujhar, Nayagarh and Jajpur of the state during the financial years 2021-22 and 2022-23.

–IANS

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