Coop secy held for misusing Rs 40 lakh

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance arrested the secretary of Kadopada Primary Agricultural Cooperative Society (PACS) in Deogarh district on charges of financial fraud and embezzlement of public funds amounting to Rs 40.71 lakh. The arrest comes after an investigation by the Odisha Vigilance officers which revealed that the accused, Suresh Chandra Sahu, systematically siphoned off finds by manipulating official accounting records. The fraud directly affected the financial stability of the cooperative society and harmed the local farming community.

A key finding of the investigation was the deliberate manipulation of the PACS Day Book, its primary book of original entry.

Sahu failed to record loan repayments made by loanee farmers despite receiving the cash from them. By not entering these transactions in the Day Book, the amounts remained unaccounted thus enabling him to misappropriate the entire sum of Rs 40,71,644. Officials said such fraud is especially damaging as it undermines financial systems designed to support poor and marginal farmers.

A case has been registered under anti-corruption laws at Rourkela Vigilance police station.