Bhubaneswar: In a case that defies belief, a junior govt employee in Angul district was arrested on Thursday by the Odisha vigilance for allegedly managing to siphon off lakhs of rupees every month by forging his pay bills and drawing salary far beyond the country’s highest office-holders. The accused was identified as Subrat Kumar Behera (39), a junior assistant at the office of the chief district medical officer (CDMO) in Angul.According to vigilance officials, though entitled to a monthly salary of around Rs 51,000, Behera fraudulently pocketed between Rs 4 lakh and Rs 14 lakh per month by allegedly getting his inflated pay bills cleared through the treasury.Investigators say the scam ran unchecked from 2017 until 2025, when an internal audit finally flagged the irregularities. By then, Behera misappropriated a staggering Rs 2.38 crore. “Behera misappropriated Rs 2.38 crore between 2017 and 2025. He fraudulently drew a basic pay ranging from Rs 3,36,100 to Rs 7,36,100 during 2022–2025, and claimed dearness allowance between Rs 9,05,827 and Rs 14,06,300 from March to June 2021,” vigilance director Yeshwant Jethwa revealed.Investigators are now probing whether others colluded in the scam. “Behera’s official duty was to prepare monthly pay bills for doctors and health staff in Angul. Exploiting this responsibility, he inserted forged and inflated figures for his own salary,” Jethwa said.His properties were searched by the anti-corruption wing on Wednesday. “We have arrested him for possessing disproportionate assets—estimated to be 205% higher than his legitimate earnings,” a written statement of the vigilance said.Behera started his govt service in Sept 2007 with a modest salary of about Rs 8,000. “After the internal audit flagged the misappropriation in Oct 2025, a police case was registered against him in Angul. Behera remained absconded for several months. Odisha vigilance took over the probe recently,” another official said.
