Three engineers have been suspended due to their alleged involvement in a Rs 3.21 crore scam within the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the Jashipur block of Mayurbhanj district. Rajendra Patra, who served as the assistant executive engineer of Jashipur block at the time, along with junior engineers Sameer Kabi and Dibya Lochan Naik, were identified as the individuals implicated in the corruption, which transpired in 2020.
The scandal unfolded when it was revealed that funds allocated under MGNREGA in 2020 had been misappropriated without corresponding developmental endeavors in several panchayats including Podagarh, Barehipani, Astakumar, Gurugudia, and Dhalabani under the jurisdiction of Jashipur block.
Anupama Ghosh, the then Block Development Officer (BDO) of Jashipur, filed a formal complaint against 25 individuals at the Jashipur police station in connection with the misappropriation. Consequently, the Jashipur police arrested four suspects and presented them before the court, while the remaining accused individuals remained at large.
Subsequently, after an investigation conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), during which the accused provided statements to the ED on April 20, appropriate actions were taken against those involved.