Bhubaneswar, 07 May (H.S.): The Odisha Vigilance Department has arrested a woman and her live-in partner for their alleged involvement in a major embezzlement case linked to the misappropriation of more than ₹1.08 crore from the Koraput Central Co-operative (KCC) Bank branch in Malkangiri.

The accused have been identified as Sushree Nibedita Tarai, also known as Sushree Sulagna, and Nrusingh Prasad Khamari. The duo was allegedly working in collusion with Sudhansu Khora, Branch Manager of KCC Bank, Malkangiri, who was arrested on May 5 and is currently under police remand.

According to Vigilance officials, the investigation revealed that Khora transferred nearly ₹63 lakh of the misappropriated funds to Tarai and Khamari as part of a conspiracy to conceal the financial fraud. Preliminary findings suggest that Khora came into contact with Tarai through Facebook, after which the accused allegedly planned the diversion of bank funds.

Officials suspect that Tarai and Khamari are habitual fraudsters involved in multiple cheating cases across different locations. A fraud case involving ₹14 lakh has reportedly surfaced in Bengaluru, while another case related to ₹30 lakh has been reported from Jagatsinghpur. Similar fraudulent activities are also being investigated in Baripada, Paradip, and Bhubaneswar.

As part of the ongoing probe, Vigilance authorities are examining 25 bank accounts and 12 stock trading accounts linked to the accused in an effort to trace the money trail and identify additional financial irregularities.