Odisha EOW Arrests Former Regional Manager for Embezzlement of Agricultural Subsidies

Bhubaneswar: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in Bhubaneswar has apprehended another individual in relation to the alleged misappropriation of government subsidies intended for supplying agricultural equipment to farmers in Odisha. The suspect, identified as Bidyadhara Behera, former Regional Manager of Varushapriya Agrotech Pvt Ltd, was arrested in Bhadrak. He is accused of fraudulently using the company’s login credentials to misappropriate Rs 5 crore in government subsidies. The arrest was made based on a complaint filed by the company’s director, KG Sree Charan.

Varushapriya Agrotech Pvt Ltd, a Bangalore-based company with a branch office in Baramunda, Bhubaneswar, was involved in supplying paddy transplanters to farmers nationwide. The company also provided services and supplies to the Odisha government under subsidized schemes aimed at promoting agriculture.

Investigations revealed that Behera, as the Regional Manager, used the company’s exclusive login ID and password from 2017 to 2021 to upload details of more than 556 paddy transplanters onto the Agriculture Department website meant for registering machinery sales in Odisha and facilitating subsidies to beneficiaries/farmers. The uploaded information contained fake engine and chassis numbers, as well as names and photos of an equal number of farmers in 18 districts of Odisha, falsely indicating the issuance/supply of the machinery to them.

The accused would entice the beneficiary farmers by offering them a token amount after the subsidy funds were credited to their accounts while pocketing the larger subsidy amount. The cost of the paddy transplanters ranged from Rs 2.33 lakh to Rs 3 lakh, with the government releasing subsidies ranging from Rs 93,320 to Rs 1.50 lakh for each machine.

Out of the 556 paddy transplanters, 46 were fraudulently shown as sold/supplied by Bidyadhara Behera, who was the proprietor of Kalpana Motors and an authorized dealer of Varushapriya Agrotech Pvt Ltd. Working in conspiracy with the main accused, Srinath Rana, Behera provided fake engine and chassis numbers for these 46 transplanters, which were falsely documented as being issued to beneficiaries/farmers in Bhadrak and Keonjhar districts.

Srinath Rana was arrested in September 2021 for allegedly embezzling government subsidies of nearly Rs 6 crore under the pretence of selling agricultural machinery and equipment to farmers.