Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance today arrested two more persons in connection with the alleged embezzlement of over Rs 1.08 crore from the Koraput Central Co-operative (KCC) Bank branch in Malkangiri.

The accused have been identified as Sushree Nibedita Tarai and her live-in partner, Nrusingh Prasad Khamari. Vigilance officials said both were closely associated with Sudhansu Khora, the Branch Manager of KCC Bank, who was arrested on May 5 and is currently under police remand for interrogation.

According to investigators, the money trail has revealed that Khora allegedly transferred nearly Rs 63 lakh from the misappropriated funds to Tarai and Khamari as part of a conspiracy to divert the money and avoid detection.

Vigilance officials said Khora had reportedly come into contact with Sushree Nibedita Tarai, also known as Sushree Sulagna, through Facebook. The two allegedly hatched a plan to siphon off funds from the bank. Khamari, who has reportedly been in a live-in relationship with Tarai for a long time, is also suspected of having played a key role in the operation.

Investigators believe the duo may be involved in several other financial frauds across Odisha and outside the state. During interrogation, it emerged that Khamari and Tarai were allegedly operating as professional fraudsters and may have cheated multiple people.

A fraud case involving Rs 14 lakh has reportedly been registered against Khamari under the Bangalore Police Commissionerate. Vigilance officials also suspect the duo of committing another fraud worth Rs 30 lakh in Jagatsinghpur. Similar cases are being examined in Baripada, Paradip and Bhubaneswar.

As part of the ongoing probe, Vigilance teams are scrutinising 25 bank accounts linked to the duo across different banks. Financial and banking experts have also begun examining 12 stock trading accounts to trace the flow of money and uncover possible additional fraud.

Searches conducted at locations in Bhubaneswar and Khordha led to the seizure of several items, including 33 mobile phones, a desktop computer, a tablet, jewellery allegedly purchased using the misappropriated money, a drone and high-end cameras.

Officials said 27 of the seized mobile phones were found damaged, allegedly in an attempt to destroy evidence after committing specific crimes.

Vigilance suspects that Khora and Tarai may have been operating a larger crime syndicate aimed at illegally enriching themselves through financial fraud and cheating. Further investigation into the case is underway.