Gajapati woman panchayat officer booked for funds misuse

BERHAMPUR: A woman panchayat executive officer (PEO) of Gumma in Gajapati district was on Saturday booked for alleged embezzlement of more than 4,05,000 from the panchayat funds.
A case was registered against the accused, S Ravanamma, at Sheranga police station after the block development officer of Gumma lodged an FIR on Friday.
Anupam Saha, the district collector (Gajapati), placed her under suspension after an inquiry found her guilty of misappropriating the panchayat funds.The matter came to light when the bank alerted the district collector about the dubious transactions of the funds by the PEO. Following this, he asked the BDO to inquire into the matter, sources said.
“We found that she had issued as many as 29 cheques to some of her relatives from June 1, 2020 till November 11. Funds to the tune of Rs 4,05,700 were transferred to different accounts from the account of the panchayat,” BDO Gumma Natabar Garada said. The funds included that of the 14th Finance Commission, the Fourth State Finance Commission and the panchayat.
“The accused PEO might have issued the cheques with forged signatures of the panchayat sarpanch as the latter denied his role in the case,” Garada said. He, however, added that police will investigate the matter.
“We have registered a case against the PEO under Section 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant) and an inquiry has been initiated,” police said.
The accused PEO has been working in the panchayat since 2014. Her job was regularized recently. The BDO said they will also inquire about her financial activities during other periods of her service. The suspended PEO could not be reached for her comments.