Ex-Co-op Secretary Jailed for Loan Fund Misuse

Bhubaneswar: In a significant judgment in a corruption case, the Special Judge, Vigilance, Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, sentenced Prafulla Kumar Mishra, a retired Secretary of the Service Co-operative Society at Kamondo in Odisha’s Nayagarh district, to four years of rigorous imprisonment for embezzling agricultural loan funds.

Mishra was charge-sheeted by Odisha Vigilance under Sections 13(2) read with 13(1)(c)(d)/7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code. The court found him guilty of misappropriating cooperative funds meant for farmers during his tenure.

Along with the prison sentence, the court also imposed a monetary fine. Mishra was immediately taken into judicial custody after the verdict to begin serving his sentence.

Following the conviction, Odisha Vigilance is set to approach the competent authority to initiate proceedings for stopping Mishra’s pension benefits, in accordance with existing legal provisions for convicted government officials.

This conviction highlights the Odisha government’s continued crackdown on corruption, particularly in rural and cooperative institutions, where misuse of public funds directly affects farmer welfare and grassroots development.