The mobile handset used for manufacturing of E-cheque was seized along with other incriminating articles. Of the siphoned amount of Rs.5 crore, an amount of Rs.3.30 crores has been freezed by the EOW sleuths.
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The Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Odisha police on Wednesday arrested two fraudsters who had hacked the server of National Health Mission-run Zilla Swasthya Samiti in Subarnapur district to transfer more than Rs five crore government funds to another bank account.
The arrested duo- Rajkishore Nayak and Ananta Charan Pradhan- had perpetrated the crime on 7 April by applying their information technology skill by hacking Public Financial Management System (PFMS) of National Health Mission, officials said on Wednesday.
The fraud had come to light after the Chief District Medical Officer of Subarnapur found the mysterious disappearance of funds to the tune of Rs.5,01,50,000 from the official account of NHM. Acting on a complaint lodged by CDMO, the EOW sleuths swung into action in cracking the economic offence,
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The mastermind of the crime- Nayak had entered into a criminal conspiracy with Pradhan by hacking the portal NHM system’s PFMS. Later, they had generated one E-cheque amounting to Rs.5,01,50,000. Thereafter the duo manufactured duplicate seals of Additional District Medical Officer (ADMO) and CDMO, Sonepur and put the same on the E-cheque.
The fake E-cheque was later cleared by a nationalized bank in Sonepur and the entire sum was transferred to the account of dubious firm Natural floated by the duo for perpetrating the fraud.
The main accused Nayak worked as an accountant at NHM Sonepur on contract basis. Later he quit the contractual assignment on 24 December 2020.
The mobile handset used for manufacturing of E-cheque was seized along with other incriminating articles. Of the siphoned amount of Rs.5 crore, an amount of Rs.3.30 crores has been freezed by the EOW sleuths.
The accused persons booked under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code section 420 and Information Technology (IT) Act were later remanded to judicial custody, police concluded.
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