Bhubaneswar: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a woman who had allegedly been absconding for 16 years in connection with a post office savings fraud case in Odisha.
The accused, identified as Shabda Swain, a former Branch Postmaster of the Bonda Post Office in Odisha. She was arrested by the CBI in Bargarh while she was attending a family function, CBI sources said on Thursday.
Swain allegedly committed the financial irregularities between 2008 and 2014, when she was serving as Branch Postmaster at the Bonda Post Office. She allegedly misappropriated Rs 13,98,232 collected from depositors.
The accused allegedly failed to deposit the money collected from account holders into the government account and instead made false entries in their passbooks to conceal the alleged embezzlement.
Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the CBI, Bhubaneswar, had registered a case in connection with the alleged fraud. After charges were framed against her on December 31, 2015, Swain allegedly remained absconding.
The central probe agency said that a non-bailable warrant (NBW) was issued against her in 2022.
Following sustained investigation and efforts to trace the accused over the years, the CBI finally located and arrested her in Bargarh, where she had travelled to attend a family event, it said in a statement.
