Constable arrested in Boudh for alleged fraud, extortion and misappropriation
By Kambudhar Kheti
Boudh, June 18: In a major crackdown on financial misconduct within the police ranks, a constable in Odisha’s Boudh district has been arrested for allegedly defrauding fellow police personnel and misappropriating large sums of money over several years.
According to police sources, the accused, Hrudananda Behera (43), a constable posted at Model Police Station, Boudh, was taken into custody on June 16, 2025, following a complaint lodged by Pradeep Kumar Tripathy, a Home Guard. Tripathy alleged that Behera had been extorting money from him under false promises of facilitating loan sanctions.
The complaint reveals that over a span of eight years, Behera took monthly payments of Rs 10,000 from Tripathy and retained his ATM card, passbook, and cheque book. He allegedly withdrew Tripathy’s arrear payments and misappropriated a sanctioned loan meant for him, while also threatening him against reporting the matter.
During the investigation, police made a staggering seizure from Behera’s possession, which included 60 bank passbooks, 43 ATM cards, 29 cheque books, 209 signed blank cheques, 11 registration sale deeds, cash amounting to Rs 5,02,490 and 145 grams of gold and silver ornaments.
Officials said the seized items point towards a wider nexus of financial exploitation, as many of the documents and valuables reportedly belonged to other police personnel.
Behera has been booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 308(5) (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 316(4), 316(5) (cheating and breach of trust by a public servant), 314 (criminal intimidation), 321 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 238 (extortion by putting a person in fear of injury).
Confirming the development, the Boudh Superintendent of Police (SP), Rahul Goel, said stringent action would be taken against any personnel found exploiting fellow staff under the guise of financial assistance or loan arrangements.
The case has sent shockwaves through the district police establishment, prompting calls for a comprehensive internal review of financial dealings among personnel.
Further investigation is underway.
