BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Vigilance has arrested a Forest Department senior assistant for allegedly embezzling more than ₹2.60 crore in government funds over a multi-year period. The accused, identified as Babulu Suna, was serving as Senior Assistant-cum-In-Charge of the Establishment Section at the Divisional Forest Officer unit of the Sunabeda Wildlife Division in Nuapada district. Officials stated that he had been absconding for approximately six months before being apprehended in Balangir on Saturday night. Authorities subsequently initiated measures to produce him before the Special Vigilance Court in Bhawanipatna under two separate cases registered at the Koraput Vigilance Police Station.
Diversion of state treasury funds via fake scheme arrears
Investigators allege that Suna exploited departmental payment mechanisms by manufacturing fraudulent arrears bills under the Modified Assured Career Progression and Revised Assured Career Progression frameworks. Instead of processing legitimate dues, he allegedly used the identities, service particulars, and documentation of former, retired, and deceased department employees to raise unauthorized financial claims against the public exchequer.
Once cleared, the diverted public funds were routed into external personal accounts rather than reaching bona fide staff members. Financial traces tracked by the agency show that the disbursed sums landed in bank accounts belonging to Suna’s wife, brother, sister, and two close associates. Vigilance officers are scrutinizing relevant transactions to establish the complete route of the proceeds and verify the exact degree of knowledge or involvement attributable to the recipient account holders.
Manipulation of personal records for irregular salary increments
Beyond the scheme payouts, the investigation revealed that Suna allegedly altered departmental entries concerning his own service record. Investigators suspect that he tampered with official service records to record unauthorized increments, enabling him to receive salaries far exceeding his sanctioned entitlement. This unilateral inflation of service benefits reportedly resulted in an illicit drawal of over ₹10.58 lakh in excess salary, which has been clubbed into the total alleged embezzlement figure of ₹2,60,21,306.
Officials are assessing the exact duration of the illicit withdrawals, which are suspected to have operated systematically since 2023. Departmental files, approvals, and physical disbursement records are currently undergoing verification to confirm whether administrative oversight lapses facilitated the extended operation of the scheme.
Vigilance scrutiny broadens into oversight gaps and money trail
The Koraput Vigilance Police Station has booked Suna under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act along with relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita across Case Nos. 24/2026 and 25/2026. The legal proceedings encompass charges of record forgery, illicit transaction processing, and fraudulent treasury withdrawals.
Vigilance teams are currently reviewing institutional verification protocols governing staff service records to understand how the forged claims escaped administrative checks during processing and final treasury clearance. Investigators emphasized that while bank accounts and clearance trails are under extensive review, no additional officials have yet been established as co-conspirators in the case. Further legal actions remain dependent on forensic financial analysis and final reports placed before the court.
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