Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance on Thursday arrested the main accused in a Rs 5.56 crore government fund misappropriation case, along with his wife, after tracking them across multiple locations in Odisha and West Bengal.

The accused, Pradip Kumar Mohanty, a retired headmaster who was re-engaged at a Block Education Officer's office after retirement, had been absconding with his wife, Gitarani Mohanty. The couple had been frequently changing locations to evade arrest.

Acting on intelligence inputs, a Vigilance team had earlier carried out raids at suspected hideouts in Kolkata, where the duo was believed to be hiding. However, sensing the crackdown, they reportedly fled the city on Wednesday night.

The couple later took shelter at a hotel in the Charampa area of Bhadrak district, where they were finally apprehended by the Vigilance team early on Thursday morning.

Officials said the accused are currently being interrogated in connection with the case.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the misappropriated government funds were transferred to multiple personal accounts, including those of Pradip Mohanty, his wife, their son Matruprasad Mohanty, and others. Notably, their son was arrested a day earlier in connection with the same case.

Further investigation is underway to trace the money trail and identify other individuals involved in the fraud.