Odisha: Lady Accountant Accused Of Embezzling Teachers’ Salaries Surrenders

Bhubaneswar: A lady accountant, absconding since October 2022 having allegedly siphoned off teachers’ salaries to her personal account while working at Bhawanipatna block education office, has surrendered before the SDJM court here.

Identified as Suchismita Sutar, she also moved a bail petition. The court, however, sent her to judicial custody and directed police to submit an up-to-date report on the case by February 27, when the next date of hearing has been fixed.

According to sources, the state government had allotted around Rs 2.27 crore towards payment of salaries to ex-cadre teachers of Bhawanipatna block from June to September. Sutar allegedly transferred salaries of around 171 primary schoolteachers amounting to Rs 39.31 lakh for the month of September to her personal account in phases.

The matter came to light when the teachers complained about not receiving their salaries. On the basis of their complaint, BEO Thakur Charan Sahu filed an FIR on October 7 and a case was registered against Sutar, who then absconded.

Meanwhile, Vigilance sleuths raided and sealed her residential building in the Irrigation colony here. She was a contractual employee with a monthly salary of Rs 10,000, sources added.