10 officials held for embezzling 23 lakh NREGA funds

Created On: 1 Feb 2014 4:15 PM IST

10 officials held for embezzling 23 lakh NREGA funds. Ten officials including Mandal Parishad Development Officers (MPDOs) and revenue staff were arrested on Friday in Kurnool district for allegedly misappropriating National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA) funds to the tune of Rs 23 lakh, police said.

Hyderabad: Ten officials including Mandal Parishad Development Officers (MPDOs) and revenue staff were arrested on Friday in Kurnool district for allegedly misappropriating National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA) funds to the tune of Rs 23 lakh, police said. The accused, including MPDOs M Uma Maheshwaramma and Chandra Sekaraiah and other revenue officials, conspired and committed cheating by withdrawing amounts in the names of benami persons, said CID Additional DG T Krishna Prasad.

The accused issued double job cards, besides issuing cards to students, employees and also in the name of dead persons. They caused huge financial loss running to several lakhs to the government exchequer and also fraudulently cheated the poor wage seekers of Banvasi village under Yemmiganur mandal in Kurnool, said the officer.

The CID took up investigation in November last year and had so far arrested 10 officials, Prasad said. More arrests would be made as and when the evidence was collected against other accused, he added.