Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance on Sunday arrested Babulu Suna, the Senior Assistant-cum-In-Charge of the Establishment Section at the Office of the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Sunabeda Wildlife Division in Nuapada. Suna, who had been absconding for the past six months.
According to a Vigilance release, he was apprehended in Bolangir last night and is being forwarded to the Court of Special Judge, Vigilance, in Bhawanipatna following charges of embezzling government funds exceeding ₹2.60 crore since 2023.
A thorough verification and extensive investigation conducted by Odisha Vigilance revealed that Suna exploited his official position to execute a series of fraudulent transactions. He fabricated false arrear bills under the Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP) and Revised Assured Career Progression (RACP) schemes. To execute the scheme, Suna manipulated the credentials and identities of former, retired, and deceased employees of the division, siphoning public funds directly into the personal bank accounts of his family members, including his spouse, brother, and sister, as well as two close associates.
Further investigation disclosed that the accused also tampered with official records to boost his own periodic salary increments beyond his legitimate entitlements. By generating inflated monthly salary bills over a sustained period, he wrongfully drew an additional sum of over ₹10.58 lakh. In total, Suna has been found to have misappropriated ₹2,60,21,306 from the government exchequer.
A case has been registered against Suna under the Prevention of Corruption Act and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and further investigation into the financial fraud is underway, it added.
