Ward Members Lock Up PEO in Office Alleging Misappropriation of Funds in Balasore Dist

Balasore: Ward members of Mathani panchayat in Basta block of Odisha’s Balasore district locked up the Panchayat Executive Officer (PEO) inside the panchayat office overnight, alleging that he had misappropriated the funds meant for their allowance.

As per reports, the angry ward members alleged that they had received allowances for five months instead of seven months. According to the ward members, the concerned PEO Bhagwat Vashal allegedly misappropriated the funds meant for their allowances for the next two months.

On Tuesday, the ward members had a heated argument with the PEO at the panchayat office. Later on, the ward members locked the PEO inside his office, demanding him to pay up their outstanding allowances.

The sarpanch of the area, Natabar Singh, however, came in support of the PEO and said that since the panchayat committee meeting wasn’t held in the past two months, the ward members’ demand for allowances was not valid.