Bhawanipatna, Mar 22 (PTI) A suspended Panchayat Executive Officer (PEO) in Odisha's Kalahandi district was arrested by the state Vigilance for allegedly embezzling government funds of over Rs 3 crore for cricket betting and online gaming, an official said. The arrested PEO was identified as Debananda Sagar. Also Read | Cash Recovery at Delhi HC Judge House Case: CJI Forms 3-Member Committee To Probe Allegations, Withdraws Judicial Work From Justice Yashwant Varma. He was accused of embezzling public money to the tune of Rs 3.26 crore from Talnegi gram panchayat and Podapadar gram panchayat under Thuamal-Rampur block in Kalahandi district by abusing his official power and forging the signature of sarpanch of the panchayats, the official said. Sagar allegedly transferred to money to his personal bank account, he said. Also Read | Fake Call Centre Busted in Gurugram: Fraudsters Impersonating Microsoft Representatives Dupe Canadian Nationals on Pretext of Providing Tech Support, 13 Arrested. Debananda Sagar joined government service as PEO in 2016 and was posted to Talnegi gram panchayat. Later he was also put in charge of PEO of Podapadar gram panchayat. He misappropriated the government money from May 5, 2018 to March 17, 2022, the official said. "He used the government money on cricket betting through online portal," the vigilance said in a statement. Earlier, in 2023, he was booked by Vigilance for misappropriation of government funds to the tune of Rs 1.04 crore and was placed under suspension. The Vigilance on Friday had arrested a panchayat executive officer (PEO) in Ganjam district for allegedly embezzling government funds of over Rs 43 lakh for cricket betting and online gaming. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)