Inside Keonjhar fraud: How a PGCIL manager diverted Rs 18 lakh for years in Odisha
Police have arrested a former manager of the Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) for allegedly orchestrating a financial fraud amounting to approximately Rs 18.66 lakh. According to the Times of India, Banothu Ravi Kumar, 44, who headed the Naranpur sub-station, was detained on Thursday following an investigation into systemic irregularities committed during his tenure between April 2021 and January 2025. Case Registered The case, formally registered at Keonjhar Town police station on April 15, 2026, details how the accused allegedly bypassed standard operating procedures. By misusing SAP credentials and manipulating e-office documents, Kumar allegedly created forged contracts, fake purchase orders, and fabricated bills to process payments for work that was never executed. Investigations cliamed that contracts were frequently awarded to a set list of vendors, including a firm linked to his spouse. The fraudulent payments were subsequently encashed through these channels. Police sources confirmed that the manager manipulated official records to facilitate repeated payments against single works.