A inquiry is launched by EOW after Rs 10 cr was embezzled from the Baripada District Mineral Foundation account

On Sunday, the Crime Branch’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) began investigating the purported embezzlement of around `10 crore from the District Mineral Foundation’s (DMF) fund’s bank account in Mayurbhanj.

After arriving at Baripada, a team of EOW from Bhubaneswar headed to the Bhanjpur police station to look into the situation. The branch manager of Bank of India, Baripada filed a complaint two days ago, according to an official of the Bhanjpur police station. The allegation said that DMF funds belonging to the Zilla Parishad (ZP), Mayurbhanj were taken out and then transferred electronically to other accounts in stages between April 10 and April 18. Nearly Rs10 crore was moved to other accounts in a span of eight days.

After the Zilla Parishad’s account division employees updated the account, the issue became apparent. They alerted higher authorities to the deception right away.

According to Mayurbhanj ZP president Bharati Hansdah, the Bank of India’s Baripada branch recently withdrew almost Rs 2 crore for development projects. When more funds were needed for a project, the employees visited the bank and discovered that over <10 crore had already been taken out of the account.

An FIR was then lodged at the Bhanjpur police station. Hansdah said, “The case was later turned over to the EOW.”