Jharsuguda: Badmal police arrested four persons on Saturday, including an employee of a cash management company, for allegedly misappropriating company funds and staging a robbery near the Toyota showroom on SH-10. The case involves alleged misappropriation of around Rs 8.48 lakh.The accused were Pinku Suna alias Sana (33), Manoj Nanda (22) and Rabi Suna (29), all from sector-6 in Rourkela, and Ananda Tandia (35) of sector-15, Rourkela. Suna, a cash executive, was responsible for collecting money from clients in Jharsuguda and depositing it in designated bank accounts.According to police, Suna deposited Rs 2.30 lakh on Aug 18 but retained Rs 5.38 lakh collected from different clients. When questioned by the company, he claimed that unidentified persons had robbed him of the money near the Toyota showroom in Badmal. He had allegedly failed to deposit Rs 3.59 lakh collected earlier. Inconsistencies in his statement and the earlier non-deposit raised suspicion.The investigation revealed that the robbery had allegedly been staged as part of a pre-planned conspiracy to conceal the misappropriation. Suna allegedly handed over the cash to his associates to create the impression that it had been looted. Jharsuguda SP G R Raghavendra said police used CCTV footage, technical surveillance, local intelligence and verification of the suspects’ movements during the investigation. “The evidence indicated that the incident was pre-planned, with Pinku Suna emerging as the key conspirator,” he said.Police said the conspiracy was planned in Rourkela on Aug 16 and executed two days later. They recovered Rs 4.89 lakh, five phones and two motorcycles. Suna allegedly involved his relative Rabi, who introduced Ananda, while Manoj allegedly provided information about cash collection locations. A case has been registered under various BNS sections. Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining money, establish the financial trail and identify others involved.
